The Vietnamese economy is projected to expand by 6.23% in the first quarter of 2018, buoyed by strong industrial growth, according to the National Centre for Socio-economic Information and Forecast (NCIF).

Manufacturing continues to be the main growth driver of the Vietnamese economy.

The NCIF, an agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said industrial and construction growth could reach 6.87% as the activities in manufacturing continue to build on the momentum from last year.

The manufacturing sector’s tremendous growth of 17% in the first two months of 2018 remained the key driver of economic growth, said Dang Duc Anh, chief analyst at NCIF.

He said that Samsung’s ramping-up of production and export of more than 5 million products made a substantial contribution to the manufacturing growth.

The NCIF estimated that Vietnam’s services sector would grow by 6.74% in the January-March period while putting inflation at 3.1%, higher than the same period of last year.

Based on the positive data in the first quarter, the NCIF has projected that Vietnam’s economic output for the whole of 2018 would hit 6.83%, compared with the 6.71% expansion forecast made in December last year.

The industrial and construction sector is expected to see spectacular growth as the Government’s efforts to ease the difficulties for enterprises from 2017 will produce an effect this year.

Agriculture is forecast to see decent growth, while services are expected to maintain their growth momentum from last year.

According to the NCIF, the Government’s actions to improve the business climate are anticipated to further boost business confidence and attract more foreign investment, while the CPTPP trade pact will stimulate trade and investment activities.

Nhan Dan