Roundup: Vietnam's Economy Has Positive ChangesVietnam's economy had many positive changes in the first six months of this year when the country's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 222.332 trillion Vietnamese dong (VND) (nearly 15 billion U.S. dollars), up 7.1 percent over the same period last year.Additionally, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam has also shown the signs of recovery. There were 200 more projects licensed with total registered capital of over 968 million dollars, increasing 30 percent in the number of projects and 39 percent in investment capital. Vietnam's import and export activities in the first half of this year also attained remarkable achievements. The country's export turnover is estimated to reach 7.585 billion dollars, an increase of 14.8 percent over the same period last year. Meanwhile, the import turnover attained 7.928 billion dollars, up 8.8 percent, much lower than the figure of 36.4 percent in the same period last year. Over the past six months, passenger and goods transport maintained the growth of over five percent compared with the same period last year. The number of foreign tourists to Vietnam reached 1.24 million, up 8.5 percent from the same period last year. The country's tourism service reached a turnover of 5.65 trillion VND (389 million dollars) in the first six months of this year, a 15.8 percent year-on-year increase. In the first half of 2001, production value of agriculture, forestry and aquaculture of the country is estimated to reach 68.3 trillion VND (4.55 billion dollars), increasing three percent against the same period last year. However, this figure is lower than that of 5.2 percent in 2000 and the year's target of 4.5 percent. Vietnam's industrial production value also attained over 113 trillion VND (over 7.5 billion dollars), up 14.1 percent compared to the same period last year. Although this figure is equal to the year's target, it is lower than the rate of 14.7 percent last year. In general, both industrial and agricultural production activities meet many difficulties in finding outlet for produce, due to the decrease of domestic purchasing power and export prices of agricultural produce. Total retail sales of goods and services of the country earned 114.1 trillion VND (over 7.6 billion dollars), up 7.6 percent against the same period of 2000. However, consumption index decreased by 0.7 percent compared to that in December, 2000. In terms of monetary, till June 30, 2001, the total value of payment methods is estimated to see an increase of eight percent compared to that by December 31, 2000. This figure is lower than that of 10.1 percent in 2000. The positive economic results in the first half of 2001 is sure to have created favorable conditions for the development of economy in the country. |
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