GDP target achievable, but risks buildingAfter Vietnam’s economic growth in July-September reached 7.46 per cent year-on-year, the strongest third quarter growth since 2011, the 2017 GDP growth target, considered by many economists as “ambitious”, is now claimed by the General Statistics Office (GSO) as achievable. The services, industry and construction, and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors were the main contributors to the nine-month GDP growth rate, expanding 7.25 per cent, 7.17 per cent, and 2.78 per cent year-on-year, respectively, GSO Head Mr. Nguyen Bich Lam said. Vietnam received an estimated $12.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months, up 13.4 per cent year-on-year. Results from the third quarter are a positive sign for the country and pushes it towards its full-year growth target of 6.7 per cent. Money supply increased 9.59 per cent in the same period, below the 11.76 per cent increase a year earlier.

Source: VietNamNet News September 30, 2017 23:26 UTC