External headwinds continue to hurt Vietnam's economy: World Bank

🗞️ A recent report of The World Bank (WB) on #Vietnam said that the #economy was facing external headwinds as weakening external demand continues to weigh on #exports, translating into weakening #industrial production.

🏭 Specifically, the WB reported industrial production improved slightly but remained weak. The industrial production index increased marginally by 0.5 per cent on-year in April, an improvement from the 2 per cent on-year contraction in March.

👕👟 Production of #textile, #footwear, and #leather products, #electronics, #computers, cell #phones (including parts), motor #vehicles and #transportation equipment continued contracting in April as well as in the first four months of the year compared to the same period of 2022, reflecting weaker than expected exports.

🍷 Continued expansion of industrial production for domestic consumption, including food and beverage as well as petrol, partly mirrors growth in domestic demand in April.

🛒 #Retail sales growth moderated as 2022 as the post-COVID low base effect faded. Retail sales registered a growth rate of 11.5 per cent on-year in April, comparable to March 2023 (11.5 per cent on-year) and to pre-pandemic growth rates. Sales of goods slowed from 11.3 per cent on-year in March to 9.7 per cent on-year in April.

🛍️ Sales of services continued to register a strong growth rate of 19.2 per cent on-year in April (a growth of 5.6 per cent on-month), largely driven by the expansion of tourism services (86 per cent on-year) and accommodation and restaurant services (21.1 per cent on-year).

🎯 Vietnam received around one million international visitors in April, a 10 per cent increase from March. The number of international visitors in the first four months of 2023 reached 3.7 million, which is 40 per cent below the pre-pandemic levels.

Source: https://vietnam-b2b.com/sXwh