Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a sharp 7.52% in the first half of this year against the same period last year, the highest first-half growth rate in the 2011-2025 period, according to a General Statistics Office report on Vietnam’s socio-economic performance. On the supply side, based on gross value added (GVA) growth, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector expanded by 3.84%, contributing 5.59% to overall GVA. The industrial and construction sector grew by 8.33%, accounting for 42.20% of GVA, while the services sector rose by 8.14%, contributing the largest share at 52.21%. The GDP deflator for the first half of this year increased by 3.2% year-over-year, slightly below the average consumer price index (CPI), which rose by 3.6% during the same period. This gap of 0.4 percentage point suggests that sentiment-driven factors may have exerted upward pressure on consumer prices. On the demand side, final consumption in the first half of the year increased by 7.95% year-over-year, while gross capital formation rose by 7.98%. However, the net export of goods and services recorded a sharp decline compared to the same period in 2024. The trade surplus dropped from approximately VND58 trillion in the first half of 2024 to just […]