Vietnam’s 10-month economic overview

Industrial Production

Industrial Production Index (IIP) in October 2019 was estimated to increase by 2.7% over the previous month and by 9.2% over the same period last year, of which the mining industry decreased slightly by 0.2%; processing and manufacturing increased by 10.8%; electricity production and distribution increased by 8.1%; water supply and waste treatment had an increase of 6.9%.

The first 10 months of 2019 in general witnessed an increase of approximately 9.5% in IIP over the same period last year, which is lower than the increase of 10.3% of the same period in 2018. Of which, the mining industry increased by 1.2%, contributing 0.2 percentage points to the general increase; processing and manufacturing increased by 10.8%, contributing 8.3 percentage points; electricity production and distribution increased by 9.9%, contributing 0.9 percentage points; water supply and waste treatment increased by 7.2%, contributing 0.1 percentage points.

Business Registration

In October 2019, there were 12,182 newly established enterprises with a total registered capital of VND 143.6 trillion and a total registered labor of 94.7 thousand employees. In other words, there was an increase of 3.4% and 2.5% in the number of businesses and registered capital registered capital respectively, and a 3% decrease in the number of employees compared to September 2019. The average registered capital of a newly established enterprise reached VND 11.8 billion, decreasing by 0.9% from the previous month and increasing by 0.5% over the same period last year.

Since the beginning of 2019, the economy has welcomed 114.4 thousand newly registered enterprises with a total registered capital of VND 1,434.4 trillion with 1,024.5 thousand employees, an increase of 4.4% in the number of enterprises, 28.5% in registered capital and 10.8% in the number of employees compared to the same period last year. The average registered capital of a newly established enterprise in 10 months reached VND 12.5 billion, up 23.1% over the same period last year.

Investment

Investment capital from the state budget in October was estimated at VND 37 trillion, up 10% over the same period last year, including: Central capital of VND 6.7 trillion, up 7.6% and local capital of VND 30.3 trillion, up 10.5%. Generally, in the first 10 months of this year, realized investment capital from the state budget reached VND 260.4 trillion, accounting for 69.2% of the year plan and increasing 5.3% against the same period last year.

Regarding foreign direct investment, as of October 20, 2019, Vietnam saw an increase of 25.9% in the number of projects and a decrease of 14, 6% in the registered capital as compared to the same period in 2018. In particular, there were 3,094 newly licensed projects with a total registered capital of USD 12,833.8 million. Realized foreign direct investment capital in 10 months reached USD 16.2 billion, up 7.4% over the same period last year. 

Retail sales of consumer goods and services

Despite the fluctuation of commodity prices in October, the market situation remained stable. The supply of goods was well-maintained, so services growth continued to increase compared to the previous month. Generally, in the first 10 months of 2019, total retail sales of consumer goods and services experienced a strong increase over the same period last year (11.8%).

Total retail sales of consumer goods and services in October were estimated at VND 425.7 trillion, up 1.5% over the previous month and 13.3% over the same period last year. Of which retail sales of goods reached VND 322.7 trillion; accommodation and catering services revenue was VND 49.1 trillion dong; tourism revenue contributed VND 3.9 trillion; other service revenue accounted for VND 50 trillion.

Generally, in the first 10 months of 2019, total retail sales of consumer goods and services reached VND 4,059.4 trillion, up 11.8% over the same period last year if excluding the price factor which increased 9.4% (the same period in 2018 it increased by 8.9%).

Imports & exports of goods

Total import and export turnover of goods in the first 10 months of 2019 was estimated at USD 427.05 billion, of which goods export turnover reached USD 217.05 billion, up 7.4% over the same period last year. The domestic economic sector is gradually asserting its position with an export growth rate of 16.2%, which is much higher than the 10-month growth rate of the FDI sector (3.9%). At the same time, the export proportion of this sector accounted for 30.7% of total export turnover (up 2.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year). The trade balance of goods in 10 months saw a trade surplus of USD 7 billion.

Consumer price index and inflation