In its latest report, the bank said that Vietnam’s economy slowed to 3.3% during the January-March period, compared to 5.9% in the previous three months. This was largely due to a 0.4% contraction in industry, mirroring the sharp drop of 11.8% in exports.
Meanwhile, the services sector expanded by 6.8%, and agriculture grew by a 2.5%.
Retail sales of goods and services increased by 13.4% year on year in March, marking the 13th consecutive month in which retail sales recorded double digit year-on-year expansion.
The sale of goods maintained a solid growth rate, increasing by 11.3 percent year on year in March.
Although accounting for only about 20% of total retail sales, sales of services surged in March 2023, with sales in accommodation and catering increasing by 25.5% and sales in travel services shooting up by 113.9%.
The number of international visitors reached 2.7 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 91,000 in the same quarter of 2022.
According to the World Bank, Vietnam’s exports and imports contracted by 11.8% and 14.6%, respectively, reflecting the fall in exports in several major sub-sectors: electronics, machinery, textiles, apparel, and footwear products, as well as their associated imported inputs.
Both headline and core inflation continued to slow in March 2023, reaching 3.4% and 4.9%, respectively.
Inflation was still driven by the prices of food and foodstuffs, housing, and construction materials while transport was no longer a major influencing inflation compared to March 2022.
The fall of FDI commitments, which was already observed in 2022, persisted into the first quarter of 2023, with a drop of 40%, amid global uncertainties and the tightening of financial conditions in advanced economies.
Credit growth also decelerated in the January-March period to 9.5%, the lowest level since 2020, reflecting the slowdown in economic activity, especially in the industry and real estate sectors.
