(VOVWORLD) -Vietnam's economy showed optimistic signs in the first month of this year with industrial production index in January expanding in 60 out of 63 provinces and cities across the country.
The processing and manufacturing industry increased by 19.3% over the same period last year. The whole country reported 13,500 newly established businesses, up 2.2% over the previous month and up 24.8% over the same period last year.
According to the General Statistics Office, retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in January totaled over 21.4 billion USD, up 1.6% compared to the previous month and up 8.1% over the same period last year.
Investment capital spent from the state budget was estimated at 1.27 billion USD, an increase of 12.5% over the same period last year.
Economist Le Duy Binh commented, “There has been significant improvement in private investment, which is a very important demand part of the economy. Disbursement of public investment capital also increased and helped raise investment demand and Government demand. These are bright spots and we can expect a better year 2024.”
International organizations have recently made upbeat forecasts about the Vietnamese economy this year with a GDP growth of over 6%. Some even projected Vietnam’s economy to expand 6.7%, higher than the target set by the Vietnamese National Assembly for 2024.