Vietnam monitors 0.36% GDP contraction due to COVID-19 crisis

Vietnam’s economic growth slowed to a total of 0.36% in the second quarter. The reading came to be the slowest pace in decades and it could be attributed to the disruptions brought by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The country’s gross domestic product in April to June quarter hit 0.36% from a year earlier. This came sharper than last year’s record of a 6.73% expansion, the government’s General Statistics Office said in a statement on Monday.

The GSO also revealed that during the second quarter, the services sector declined a total of 1.76% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the industrial and agriculture sectors managed to advance with an expansion rate of 1.38% and 1.72%.

The International Monetary Fund foresees that Vietnam’s economy will slow to 2.7% this year. However, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged to keep growth above 5%.