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GDP up 5.83% in first quarter
In the first quarter of 2010, Vietnam’s GDP stands 5.83 percent higher than in the first quarter last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, which announced Vietnam’s quarterly trade, service, and investment figures on March 26.
During the same 12-month period, the growth rate of aggregated goods and services was 24.1 percent, and that of industrial production was 13.6 percent.
However, economists warn of a growing trade deficit as exports in the first quarter were down compared with the same period last year while imports surged by 37.6 percent. In terms of value, Vietnam suffered a trade deficit of US$3.5 billion in the first three months of the year.
But economic experts note that foreign-invested enterprises did a good job as they earned $6.7 billion from exports, a year-on-year rise of 40.5 percent, and accounted for nearly half of the country’s total export revenue.
Representatives of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the State Bank cited the shortage of support industries as the main cause of this deficit. Cheap goods from China also contributed to the deficit, they added.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment also reported that by March 15 the state budget had received VND90 trillion and spent almost VND102 trillion, resulting in a budget deficit of more than VND11 trillion.
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