Vietnam’s 9-month GDP growth at a 12-year high

Vietnam’s GDP growth in the third quarter of 2022 expanded by 13.67%, taking the country’s economic growth in the first nine months to 8.83%, the highest nine-month growth during the 2011-2022 period.

Data: GSO. Chart: Hai Yen

General Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Thi Huong gave the figures at a press conference held today [September 29].
This has exceeded the specialists' expectations, including a 10.8% GDP forecast from Standard Chartered or over 10% from VinaCapital.
According to Huong, such high growth is partly thanks to the low base from the same period of last year, when Vietnam’s economy shrank by 6.17% amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
“All business activities have now returned to normal operation and are on the way up, showcasing the effectiveness of the Government’s policies to support recovery,” Huong said.
During the period, agro-forestry-fishery expanded by 2.99%; the industrial and construction sectors grew by 9.44%, and services by 10.57%.
Huong noted the strong recovery in almost all economic sectors and localities, which was a sharp contrast to the third quarter of 2021 when major economic hubs in the southern region were forced to lockdown.
“Several sectors have recorded growth rate surpassing the pre-Covid-19 level, including manufacturing and processing, retail, and services,” Huong continued.
In the construction and industrial sectors, manufacturing and processing, seen as the economy's main driving force, recorded a 10.69% growth rate, while electricity production and distribution grew by 7.71%; water provision and waste treatment by 7.03%; and mining by 4.42%.
Meanwhile, revenue from total retail sales and services during the nine months also sharply increased by 21% year-on-year.
The disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam rose 16.3% year-on-year to $15.4 billion, the highest nine-month figure since 2018.
Vietnam’s trade performance remains a highlight of the economy, with a turnover of $558.52 billion, up 15.1% year-on-year, in which exports rose by 17.3% and imports by 13%. This resulted in a trade surplus of $6.52 billion for the January-September period.
The solid economic recovery is also reflected in business creation, with over 163,300 businesses being registered or returned to operation during the nine months, up 38.6% year-on-year, injecting over VND3,900 trillion ($163.72 billion) into the economy, up 36%.
Given the positive economic performance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) expected the GDP growth to surpass the 7% growth rate, 0.5 percentage points higher than the 6-6.5% growth target set by the National Assembly.