Vietnam’s growth slides to new 30-year low

HANOI: Vietnam reported economic growth of just 2.58 per cent on Wednesday, beating a 30-year low set last year, as the pandemic continues to take a toll.

The communist state has long been a success story among the Asian economies, posting a growth of 7 per cent in 2019. But shutdowns caused by the coronavirus have battered the export-reliant economy, sending GDP growth plunging to 2.91 per cent in 2020, the lowest reported in three decades.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) in Hanoi said the fourth quarter growth was at 5.22 per cent, but the annual figure was dragged down by a contraction of 6.02 per cent in the third quarter.

“The complicated situation of the Covid-19 pandemic since the end of April seriously impacted commercial and service activities… pulling down the growth of the service sector and the whole economy,” GSO said in a statement.

For at least three months, almost the entire country was in complete lockdown, with a huge impact on production, supply chains and businesses.

GSO head Nguyen Thi Huong gave an upbeat gloss, saying that achieving even the modest growth under such difficult circumstances was a “huge success” in remarks reported by the state media.

Vietnam is now trying to reopen by shifting away from its strict “zero-covid” policy. Around 88 per cent of adults in Vietnam have been fully vaccinated, the country’s health ministry said.

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