Communist-ruled country sees expansion but Covid could yet undo an economy that experienced rare growth last year
(AF) One of Asia’s first economic tigers continued to roar in the second quarter, shrugging off a new bout of Covid infections.
Vietnam saw its economy expand 6.61% in the three months through June, the General Statistics Office said.
However, it said that uncertainty marked the coming month, as Covod threatened to consume a country that was largely spared last year’s outbreaks.
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The Q2 performance was slightly below forecasts but an improvement on the previous three months’ 4.65%.
For the first half of the year, it grew 5.64 percent, in line with government expectations.
‘Many challenges’
Though the figure is considered high, the GSO said “the Covid-19 pandemic boom in some localities across the country from April end has posed many challenges and risks for the country in realising the objective of fighting the pandemic while developing the economy”.
The economy grew 2.91 percent in 2020, its worst reading in more than three decades, while it is targeting a 6.5 percent rate this year.
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But Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics, warned: “Looking past the jump in year-on-year growth due to a weak base for comparison, GDP data suggest that Vietnam is facing a heavy economic toll from its efforts to control the virus.
“With sporadic outbreaks continuing, the economy is likely to suffer further in the months ahead.”
Fewer deaths
Vietnam has fared relatively well during the pandemic, recording more than 16,000 cases and 78 deaths, with the majority of infections occurring since late April when outbreaks hit northern industrial zones before spreading to the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
Restrictions and social distancing orders have been in place in several parts of the country since May but there have so far been no significant signs of improvement, while only about three percent of the nearly 100 million population has been vaccinated.
The country is striving to obtain more jabs from overseas while also working on developing its own.
