Vietnam Q3 GDP expands 13.7% on low-base effect, stronger exports

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Vietnam’s economy expanded by 13.7% year on year in the third quarter, supported by stronger exports, a low base effect and a sharp recovery in private consumption, official data showed on Thursday.

The country’s GDP growth in the third quarter accelerated from the 7.83% expansion in the April-June quarter, data from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam showed.

Vietnam’s economy expanded by 2.9% year on year in 2020 and 2.6% in 2021.

Private consumption – which makes up almost 40% of the GDP growth rate in the third quarter – grew by 10.1% year on year in the third quarter, while overall exports of goods and services rose by 9.32%.

The industrial and construction sector grew by 12.9% year on year in the third quarter.

For the first nine months of this year, Vietnam’s GDP expanded by 8.83% year on year, which is the highest growth rate for a nine-month period since 2011.

Private consumption rose by 7.26% year on year in the January-September period while exports of goods and services were up by 8.94%.

The US was Vietnam’s largest export market in the first nine months of this year with an estimated turnover of $86.3bn, while China was the country’s largest import market with a projected turnover of $91.6bn.

In the first nine months of 2022, Vietnam posted a trade surplus of $6.52bn, reversing the trade deficit of $3.44bn in the same period of last year.

The World Bank earlier on 27 September upgraded its year-on-year GDP growth forecast for Vietnam to 7.2% from a previous estimate of 5.3% in April.

The forecast places Vietnam as the top performing economy in the Asia-Pacific, outpacing the Philippines and Malaysia which are projected to grow by 6.5% and 6.4% year on year, respectively.