Economic highlights from December 28-Janaury 3

Key driving forces of economic growth in 2015

Sound foreign direct investment and strong industrial production sector are among key driving forces of economic growth in 2015.

Viet Nam attracted around US$ 22.76 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) this year, an increase of 12.5% from the previous year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.

As of mid-December, the country granted licenses to 2,013 FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$15.58 billion, up 26.8% in quantity but down 0.4% in value in comparison with 2014.

Export revenues lower than expected amid oil price fall

Export revenues fell short of expectation due to sharp drop of oil prices, said Minister of Industry and Trade Vu HuyHoang at the Government’s video conference on Monday.

Viet Nam set the export growth of 10% this year based on the assumption that oil price would be US$100 per barrel. However, the oil price began dipping since the second quarter, down to around US$35-36 per barrel currently.

It was estimated that Viet Nam lost over US$3 billion from falling oil prices, said Mr. Hoang.

U.S. – VN’s top trade partner

Bilateral trade has expanded from zero since the day VietNam and the U.S. normalized their diplomatic ties 20 years ago to US$36.3 billion in 2014. The figure is expected to hit US$40 billion in 2015.

In the sphere of investment, the U.S. ranked seventh among the countries and territories investing in Viet Nam with a total direct investment of US$10.7 billion by June this year.

Inbound tourism rebounds for 6th consecutive month

Viet Nam welcomed as many as 760,800 foreigners in December, representing a month-on-month surge of 2.6% and a year-on-year growth of 15%, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

This was the sixth consecutive month the number of foreign visitors to Viet Nam rebounded after 13 straight months of declines.

In 2015, the total number of foreign guests was estimated at 7.9 million, down 0.2% against last year, marking the first decline since 2009. 

The number of passengers travelling by air rose 0.8%; by road down 6.5%; and by sea up 27.5%.

Labor productivity surges 6.4% in 2015

Viet Nam’s labor productivity constantly increased at an average rate of 3.9% in 2006-2015 period.

Social labor productivity of the economy was estimated at VND 79.3 million per labor (around US$3.657), up 6.4% against 2014.

Labor productivity increased by 3.4% in 2011-2015 and 4.2% in 2011-2015.

Labor productivity in 2015 surged by 23.6% against 2010 but was lower than the set target of 29-32%, contributing to narrow down the gap with other ASEAN member states.

Ten million people join unemployment insurance

As of late Q3, 2015, over 10 million people joined unemployment insurance, accounting for 18.5% of the labor force.

So far, the unemployment insurance premiums are estimated at over VND 7 trillion, fulfilling 80.4% of the set goal.

In Q3, 132,700 unemployment insurance beneficiaries got job consultation and 8,000 others received vocational training support.

Five biggest foreign investors in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City attracted US$4.6 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 47%.

The United Kingdom was the largest investor in the city in 2015 with US$1.202 billion in 10 projects, accounting for 42.8%. It was followed by the Republic of Korea with US$465.1 million in 120 projects, British Virgin Islands with US$370.3 million, Singapore with US$140.8 million, the U.S. with US$135.1 million and Japan with US$65.9 million.

Da Nang seeks US$768 million investment

The central city of Da Nang has called for investment in 19 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, with a total capital of VND16.5 trillion (US$768 million).

The city's secretariat said these projects were classified under Build-Operate-Transfer, Build-Transfer, Build-Lease-Transfer and Operation and Management models.

(Source: VNA/VGP)

By Thuy Dung