 At the press conference to announce socio-economic statistics for the third quarter and the first 9 months of 2024 (Photo: VOV) |
GSO General Director Nguyen Thi Huong said Typhoon Yagi, which hit Vietnam in early September, took a heavy toll on human lives, property, socio-economic development, and agro-forestry-fishery production in the northern region. Vietnam has exerted efforts to address natural disasters’ consequences, stabilize people’s life, bolster production and business activities, maintain macro-economic stability, and fuel economic growth.
As a result, Vietnam's GDP grew by an estimated 7.4% in Q3 from a year earlier. In particular, the agro-forestry-fisheries sector increased 2.58% to contribute 4.08% to the overall growth. The industry - construction sector rose 9.11% to contribute 48.88%. Notably, the processing - manufacturing industry was a bright spot of the economy, with a growth rate of 11.41% - the highest Q3 figure in six years. Meanwhile, the service sector went up 7.51%, contributing 47.04% to the economic growth.
During the first nine months, the economy expanded by some 6.82% year on year, with the agro-forestry-fisheries sector up 3.2% to make a 5.37% contribution, industry and construction up 8.19% to contribute 46.22%, and the service sector up 6.95% to contribute 48.41% to the overall growth.
The GSO pointed out that the agro-forestry-fisheries was hit hard by Typhoon Yagi in September, leading to lower nine-month growth compared to the same period of previous years.
Regarding the economic structure between January and September, the agro-forestry-fisheries sector accounted for 11.64% of the economy, industry and construction 37.1%, service 42.8%, and product taxes less subsidies on products 8.46%. The respective figures in the same period of 2023 were 11.8%, 36.98%, 42.61%, and 8.61%.
Huong said a positive trend continued to be seen in the socio-economic situation in Q3 and the first nine months of 2024, with sectors obtaining many important results, creating growth momentum for the remaining months of the year.
Vietnam continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investors, with total registered foreign investment capital reaching 24.78 billion USD as of September 30, an increase of 11.6% compared to the same period last year. Despite the complex and unpredictable global and regional economic and political landscape, experts believe that with improvements across key sectors, Vietnam's GDP growth target of 6.5-7% for this year is achievable.
To meet this goal, economic expert Le Duy Binh suggests: “We need to attract more private sector investment to compensate for the expected decline in public investment in the near future, as significant resources will need to be allocated to addressing the aftermath of storms, floods, and social security expenditures. It’s crucial to unlock new growth areas, explore untapped potential, and expand into new economic spaces.”