Vietnam defies Asia slowdown

Viet Nam ranks among the world’s fastest-growing economies as its exports remained resilient to a global trade slowdown that’s hurting Singapore and China-Photo doanhnhansaigon.vn

Viet Nam’s economy expanded more than six per cent for a second year, defying a regional slowdown to remain one of the world’s best performers as manufacturing surged.

The country’s gross domestic product increased 6.68 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, up from 6.56 per cent in the previous three months, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in Ha Noi on December 28.

The economy grew 6.21 per cent in 2016, compared with the median estimate of 6.3 per cent in a Bloomberg survey.

Companies setting up plants in the country, such as Samsung Electronics Co., are transforming the nation into a manufacturing hub for electronics goods, including smartphones. The Asian Development Bank forecast Viet Nam’s economic growth at 6.3 per cent in 2017.

"Viet Nam is in a sweet spot right now," Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong, said to Bloomberg.

"Strong growth will persist in the next several years. It is continuing to gain market share in exports and even giving China a run for competitiveness. Foreign companies continue to invest in Viet Nam to take advantage of its highly competitive labour and low cost. The outlook is bright and it is one of the standout economies in Asia," said Newmann.

Meanwhile, benchmark five-year government bonds dropped for the first time in a week, losing four basis points to 5.64 per cent. The benchmark VN Index fell as much as 0.3 per cent before closing 0.1 lower in HCM City trading.

Manufacturing gained 13.61 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace this year, Ha Quang Tuyen, head of GDP department at the GSO, said at a briefing on December 28.

Exports rose 8.6 per cent in 2016 and imports gained 4.6 per cent, according to GSO.

Viet Nam posted trade deficit of $300 million in December. It had trade surplus of $2.68 billion for 2016. Retail sales rose 10.2 per cent in 2016.

Disbursed foreign direct investment climbed nine per cent to a record $15.8 billion this year. Pledged FDI increased 7.1 per cent.