Weekly News Bulletin - No. 03, June 2023
Vietnam served a total of nearly 4.6 million international tourists in the first five months of the year, a 12.6-fold increase year on year but equal to 63 percent of the figure in the same period in 2019 when COVID-19 had yet to hit the country, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
South Korea remained the largest source market of Vietnam’s tourism in the five-month period with 1.3 million tourists, followed by China with 399,000 and the U.S. with 307,000. The number of foreign tourists in January-May met 57 percent of the full-year target of eight million foreign visitors.
Vietnam’s import-export value in the first five months of this year was estimated at USD 262.54 billion, down 14.7% year-on-year, with a trade surplus of USD 9.8 billion, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In the period, Vietnam exported about USD 136.17 billion worth of goods, a year-on-year drop of 11.6%, while imports totalled USD 126.37 billion, down 17.9% year on year. Regarding the structure of exports, processed commodities earned USD 120.24 billion (88.3%); agro-forestry products, USD 10.79 billion; aquatic products, USD 3.37 billion; and fuel and minerals, about USD 1.77 billion. The U.S. was the biggest importer of Vietnamese products with USD 37.2 billion, while China was the largest import market with USD 43.4 billion.
Last week highlight
S&P Global Ratings on June 15 affirmed Vietnam's long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings at 'BB+' with a stable outlook, while the short-term ratings remain at 'B'. S&P highlighted that Vietnam's export manufacturing sector is likely to continue to attract substantial foreign direct investment (FDI) over the next few years, especially as companies seek to diversify their supply chains.
Let’s look at some other key financial and business headlines during the past week
- Vietnam posts trade surplus of USD 9.8B in five months
- Vietnam welcomes nearly 4.6mn int’l travelers in Jan-May
- Vietnamese people optimistic about personal finances
- Vietnam’s e-commerce export revenues grow over 20% per year: conference
- Vietnamese seedless lychees now available in UK market
- State Bank reduces regulatory interest rates for fourth consecutive time
- Vietnamese and Norwegian companies sign MoU in offshore wind power
- HCMC offshore wind power project may be added to power development plan
- Int'l exhibition on precision engineering, manufacturing to open
- Hai Phong remains attractive destination for foreign businesses: JETRO
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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy
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