VINACHEM

The nation recorded the highest level of disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past eight months compared to the same period over the last five years, as well as seeing a growing number of newly-established enterprises and those returning to operation.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment,  most notably, import and export turnover increased, although keeping the growth rate in the context of international economic fluctuations is widely viewed as a new challenge that needs to be identified and requires greater efforts moving forward.

In the eight-month economic statistics table recently released by the GSO, the industrial production index is of interest to many experts as it continues to increase strongly and is back to the pre-pandemic growth rate of roughly 15%.

This figure also indicates the resilience of the manufacturing, industrial and agricultural sectors in helping to ensure a sustainable and stable supply and contributing to efforts to curb the sudden increase of the consumer price index (CPI).

Export turnover in August was estimated to be US$33.38 billion, bringing the overall export turnover over the past eight months to US$250.8 billion, up more than 17% on-year, mainly in the group of processed industrial products.

Furthermore, import turnover of goods in August stood at an estimated US$30.96 billion, raising the import turnover during the reviewed period to roughly US$246.84 billion, up 13.6% on-year, primarily in the group of production materials.

The trade surplus in August reached US$2.42 billion, while that of the eight-month period was estimated to be at US$3.96 billion.

Dr. Le Duy Binh, director of the Economica Vietnam Center for Economic Research, said that this trade surplus greatly supports the implementation of monetary policies, especially amid the difficult pressures faced by the country in recent times.

One of the other notable indicators is the business registration situation is the whole country having nearly 150,000 enterprises registered as new establishments or returning to operation, an increase of more than 30% compared to the same period last year. On average, every month, 18,700 enterprises are newly established and resume their operations.

However, the number of enterprises withdrawing from the market was 104,300 enterprises, representing an increase of 22%. On average, 13,000 businesses withdraw from the market every month.

Experts believe that, in addition to the positive growth rate in general, it can be viewed as necessary to clearly analyse and take a deep look at this issue. The fact is that many firms were forced to withdraw from the market because they failed to meet the requirements of the economy or were unable to endure the difficulties experienced since the pandemic. This indicates that the recovery pace of growth is not sustainable, especially in the new context.