The COVID-19 pandemic continues to drag on local currency bond markets in emerging East Asia, including Vietnam, as investment sentiment globally and in the region wane and containment measures limit economic activity.

Vietnam’s GDP growth rate of 3.82 percent in the first quarter of 2020, a record low since 2011, is still a miracle amidst a global economic recession, an official has said.

Retail sales of goods and services in Vietnam reached VND4.94 quadrillion (US$214.8 billion) in 2019, representing a rise of 11.8 percent over the previous year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Businesses say that the air transportation market is becoming saturated and growth has slowed down. The era when air carriers obtained growth with an increased number of passengers appears to be over.