Vietnam’s economic recovery even stronger in Q2: Hong Kong news outlet

Vietnam’s export volume in March hits 34.71 billion USD, up 14.8 percent year-on-year. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Though Vietnam suffered a brief setback in 2021 because of the highly-infectious Delta variant of COVID-19, its economy has begun to recover since the end of last year with exports achieving outstanding performance, Hong Kong (China)-based news outlet HK01 reported.

Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows that Vietnam’s export volume in March hit 34.71 billion USD, up 14.8 percent year-on-year. China Business News reported that Vietnam’s shipments of mobile phones, electronics, computers and parts exceeded 27.3 billion USD, which was close to half of last year’s figure (57.54 billion USD).

Andrew Jeffries, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam, reportedly stated that the global investment flows have declined amid the pandemic and global geopolitical volatility. Despite that, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Vietnam are likely to grow against the trend.

HK01 also touched on the Vietnam-China economic relations, noting that over the past 10 years, Vietnam’s development has not affected China’s employment and China’s exports and foreign trade are still growing rapidly. 

It quoted a Chinese economist as saying the restructuring of the industrial chain has promoted the development of trade relations between Vietnam and China. Vietnam imports a large amount of raw materials or components from China for assembly and exports.

According to Chinese customs’ statistics, the bilateral trade between Vietnam and China exceeded 200 billion USD for the first time in 2021, reaching 230.2 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 19.7 percent. China’s trade surplus with Vietnam stood at around 45 billion USD.

China remains Vietnam’s largest trade partner and second biggest importer; and Vietnam is also China’s largest trade partner in ASEAN. 

With an increase in vaccination rates and the “new normal” policy, Vietnam’s economy has stablised and recovered since the fourth quarter of last year. (Photo: VNA)

HK01 further noted that with an increase in vaccination rates and the “new normal” policy, Vietnam’s economy has stablised and recovered since the fourth quarter of last year. This year, exports will continue to be the main engine of the country’s economic growth. In addition to electronics, the labour-intensive textile and wood industries are also doing well.

Most economic experts have predicted that Vietnam’s economic recovery may be even stronger in the second quarter of 2022, it continued. It is worth noting that Vietnam announced to reopen its borders to international visitors on March 15, it said, adding that the move will enable the return of international technical managers and support Vietnam’s manufacturing industry./.

VNA