VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam achieved GDP growth of 5.25% in the second quarter of this year, bringing the six-month rate to 5.18%, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Mobile handsets are a major hard currency earner of Vietnam

In the national economic structure, agro-forestry and fisheries rose 2.96%, construction and industry 5.33% and services 6.01%.

The consumer price index (CPI) edged up 0.3% in June over May, 1.38% compared to December 2013, and 4.98% from a year ago.

As many as 37,315 businesses registered for operation with a combined capitalisation of VND230.9 billion in the reviewed period, falling 4.1% in the number but expanding 19.3% in the registered value.

Vietnam earned US$70.9 billion from exports in the six-month period, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.9%.

The foreign direct investment (FDI) business sector took the lead, fetching US$47.8 billion or 67.5% of the country’s total export earnings.

Major export items were mobile handsets and components, garments, footwear, machinery and equipment, means of transport and spare parts, and computers and appliances.

The EU topped the list of consumers, purchasing US$13.1 billion worth of Vietnamese commodities, up 12.8% from a year ago.

It was followed by the US (US$13 billion, up 19.5%), ASEAN (US$9.6 billion, up 4.8%), China (US$7.4 billion, up 20.8%), and the Republic of Korea (US$2.9 billion, down 3.5%).

Vietnam welcomed nearly 4.3 million foreign arrivals in the first six months, a year-on-year increase of 21%. The number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam nosedived 21.2% in June compared to May due to the standoff in the East Sea.

GSO general director Nguyen Bich Lam forecast that GDP for the second half would hover around 5.5-5.6%.

VOV/VNN