Jan-Sept GDP growth lowest in a decade

The country's third quarter GDP grew by 2.62 percent, higher than the previous quarter's 0.39 percent, but lower than the first quarter's 3.68 percent, the General Statistics Office reported Tuesday.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having seriously affected socio-economic activities worldwide, Vietnam’s growth was a great success, it said.

The industry and construction sector grew by 3.08 percent in January-September period, contributing 58.35 percent to the GDP. The corresponding figures for the agriculture sector were 1.84 percent and 13.62 percent, and for the services sector 1.37 percent and 28.03 percent.

Exports rose 4.2 percent year-on-year to $202.8 billion in the first nine months, while imports declined 0.8 percent to $185.8 billion.

As many as 38,600 businesses in Vietnam registered to temporarily suspend operations between January and September, up 81.8 percent year-on-year, according to General Statistics Office.

The nation's consumer price index (CPI) increased 3.85 percent, the highest in the last five years.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had said earlier that the country would strive to overcome the crisis by registering positive GDP growth this year, providing support packages to businesses and individuals.

Vietnam had enjoyed a 7.02 percent growth last year, the second highest in a decade behind the 7.08 percent in 2018.