The press conference releases socio-economic statistics of Q1, 2022 (Photo: VOV)

Strong recovery

Business and production have recovered strongly. The major contributors to GDP growth in the first quarter were industry and construction. The processing and manufacturing industries continued to drive economic growth, with an increase of nearly 7.8% over the same period last year.

Phi Thi Phuong Nga, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Construction Statistics, said: “The apparel sector grew 21.4% against the same period last year. It’s the highest growth rate in the manufacturing industry.”

The service sector is bustling again. The largest contributors have been financial, banking, and insurance services; transportation; warehousing; and wholesale and retail trade.

15 commodities surpassed 1 billion USD in export revenue, thanks to Vietnam’s efforts to overcome supply chain disruptions and high transportation and logistics costs. Major exporters landed new contracts and Vietnam’s export surplus surpassed 800 million USD in the first quarter.

With a Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 1.92%, which is rather low, Vietnam has ducked the regional and global price storm. Despite pressure, inflation was kept below the average of the 2017-2020 period.

Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh, Director of the Price Statistics Department, said: “Vietnam's food and foodstuffs account for about 28% of the basket of goods. The supply of food and foodstuffs has been secured. The supply of other essential items has been sufficient to meet the needs of Vietnam’s population. Prices have been stable recently.”

Bui Anh Tuan, General Director of the Business Registration Department of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said business and production have quickly returned to normal. Over 60,000 businesses have entered or re-entered the market, a record high quarterly figure and 36.7% more than last year.

Consensus to overcome difficulties

These positive results are largely due to the government’s Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program 2022-2023. The Prime Minister’s directive fine-tunes interest rate support packages and extends tax and fee payments.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang of the National Economic University said the Government’s relief package has strengthened consumer demand and faith in economic recovery, and has boosted domestic and foreign  investment. Public investment is expected to create a ripple effect.

Economist Nguyen Bich Lam said: “The government, ministries, and sectors have quickly adopted policies to stabilize the macro-economy, control inflation, and boost growth. The economic recovery and development program consists of economic and business supports, including a 2% interest rate reduction for businesses. These policies should be implemented as quickly as possible. We have reduced VAT by 2% but more solutions are needed to stimulate domestic demand.”