Vietnam economic growth slows in first quarter amid trade woes

Vietnam's government has pledged to keep its currency stable and curb price pressures to help support economic growth. PHOTO: AFP

HANOI (BLOOMBERG) - Vietnam's economic growth slowed in the first quarter amid a weakening in global demand and US-China trade tensions.

Gross domestic product rose 6.79 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, down from a previously reported 7.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, the General Statistics Office said in Hanoi on Friday (March 29).

A global trade downturn is hurting export-reliant economies across the region like manufacturing powerhouses Singapore and Taiwan amid a slowdown in China and weakening world demand.

Vietnam has benefited from a surge in foreign direct investment in recent years, helping to keep growth above 6 per cent. Businesses also see it as an alternative location to set up or expand operations as US-China tariff talks continue to drag on.

The government has pledged to keep its currency stable and curb price pressures to help support economic growth.

Consumer prices rose 2.7 per cent in March from year earlier.

Exports increased 4.7 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while imports rose 8.9 per cent.

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