Vietnam’s economic growth hit a three-year low in the first quarter of this year.
According to Nikkei Asian Review, the country’s annual economic growth came in at 5.1% during the first three months of 2017. Nguyen Bich Lam, head of the country’s General Statistics Office, told the news outlet this means it is unlikely that Vietnam will reach its 6.7% growth target for the coming year. This is
Though Vietnam is among Asia’s fastest-growing markets, the country’s mining, agriculture and manufacturing sectors took a hit in the first quarter. Environmental issues such as last year’s drought meant exports such as coffee and rice suffered, while electronics production also fell 1%, partially due to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 fiasco.
Moving forward, Lam told Nikkei that challenges to Vietnam’s economic growth include inflation, environmental factors and low labor productivity, among other things.
[Photo via DTI News]
