The processing and manufacturing industry increased by 19.3% over the same period last year. The whole country reported 13,500 newly established businesses, up 2.2% over the previous month and up 24.8% over the same period last year.

According to the General Statistics Office, retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in January totaled over 21.4 billion USD, up 1.6% compared to the previous month and up 8.1% over the same period last year.

Investment capital spent from the state budget was estimated at 1.27 billion USD, an increase of 12.5% over the same period last year.

Economist Le Duy Binh commented, “There has been significant improvement in private investment, which is a very important demand part of the economy. Disbursement of public investment capital also increased and helped raise investment demand and Government demand. These are bright spots and we can expect a better year 2024.”

International organizations have recently made upbeat forecasts about the Vietnamese economy this year with a GDP growth of over 6%. Some even projected  Vietnam’s economy to expand 6.7%, higher than the target set by the Vietnamese National Assembly for 2024.