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COVER STORY

sumer goods and services rising of over 8
per cent in total in the first quarter. Tourism
Off to a sound start also developed strongly, with over 4.6
million tourists catered to in the first
quarter, a year-on-year surge of 72 per
cent and contributing to boosting growth
Director General of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam,
in accommodation, catering, transport,
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, tells VET’s Anh Nhi about the country’s entertainment, and travel.
economic performance in the first quarter and how it sets up Fifthly, the government maintained
growth for the year overall. the 2 per cent cut to VAT from July 1,
2023, together with policies such as reduc-
ing interest rates and personal income
taxes, and extending debt repayment dead-
lines and increasing social welfare support,
all of which helped increase consumption.
Among these factors, I have a more
positive outlook of the impact on the
demand side, with increased exports and
imports of goods and services; tourism
being a bright spot; foreign and State
investment boosting private investment;
and household demand rising again from
consumption promotion policies such as
the VAT reduction and lower interest rates.
Additionally, the manufacturing and
INTERVIEW processing sector shows signs of continued
recovery, signaling better economic times
for Vietnam.

% Credit had risen 0.26 per cent since
the end of 2023 as of March 25. What
are your thoughts on the health of Viet-
nam’s businesses? What do the number
of newly-established enterprises and
% GDP growth in the first quarter of economy given the economic, political, the number of those being dissolved
2024 stood at 5.66 per cent. What is and social changes being seen around actually reflect?
your assessment of this result? Does it the world, in the region, and in Vietnam. It is necessary to consider different mat-
match the scenario set by Government ters to fully understand business registra-
Resolution No. 01 /NQ-CP, issued on % What drivers contributed to growth tions and dissolutions in the first quarter.
January 5, 2024? in the first quarter? What factors The world has undergone rapid, com-
The GDP growth of 5.66 per cent in the impressed you the most? plex, and unexpected changes, creating a
first quarter was the highest in the opening In the context of prolonged risks and host of difficulties and challenges in eco-
quarter since 2020. Though not as high as uncertainties, with global economic growth nomic growth and also the production
in 2018 and 2019, the result still reflected being forecast to slow to around 2.4 per and trade of businesses.
the major effort and determination of the cent after poor performance in 2023, Viet- Vietnam’s economy is in a transition
government, localities, businesses, and peo- nam’s economic growth in the first quarter period and still of modest scale, marked
ple on Vietnam’s path towards economic is certainly positive at an estimated 5.66 by limited competitiveness and resilience
recovery and development. per cent, and marks the best result in the but with a high degree of openness, with
The economic growth scenarios set opening quarter of a year since 2020. 95 per cent of enterprises being of small
out in Resolution No. 01 target growth The result can be attributed to five and micro size, so global changes have
of 6-6.5 per cent for 2024 and 5.2-5.6 per main factors. significant and direct impacts on their
cent in the first quarter. So growth in the Firstly, the macro-economy continues production and trade. The economy overall
first quarter was higher than the target. to find stability, inflation was kept under still faces its share of problems.
But there were differences in specific sec- control, and major balances in the economy The business sector contributed 66
tors compared to the scenarios. were ensured, facilitating investment, pro- per cent to Vietnam’s GDP growth of
The industry and construction sector duction, trade, and consumption and gen- 5.66 per cent in the first quarter. The
posted the highest growth, of 6.28 per erating space to boost growth further. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’
cent year-on-year, which was much higher Secondly, agricultural restructuring and Index™ (PMI®) in the first two months
than the targeted 5.5 per cent. The agri- development have created advantages and was above the 50.0 no-change mark before
culture, forestry, and fisheries sector and acted as a firm pillar for the economy. slipping under in March. So the economy
the services sector, meanwhile, posted Thirdly, public investment disburse- as well as production and trade continue
growth of 2.98 per cent and 6.12 per cent, ment was boosted and FDI attraction to exhibit positive signs.
respectively, which were lower than the increased, supporting economic growth There were 59,848 new enterprises reg-
targets of 3 per cent and 6.3-6.5 per cent. in the mid and long-term. istered or resuming operations in the first
However, overall growth of 5.66 per Fourthly, consumption demand quarter, which was fewer than the 73,978
cent is a positive start to 2024 for Vietnam’s remained high, with the retail sale of con- registering for a temporary suspension of

20 Vietnam Economic Times May 1, 2024 en.vneconomy.vn