Vietnam s economic growth slowed to a total of 0.36% in the second quarter. The reading came to be the slowest pace in decades and it could be attributed to the disruptions brought by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The country s gross domestic product in April to June quarter hit 0.36% from a year earlier. This came sharper than last year s record of a 6.73% expansion, the government s General Statistics Office said in a statement on Monday.
The GSO also revealed that during the second quarter, the services sector declined a total of 1.76% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the industrial and agriculture sectors managed to advance with an expansion rate of 1.38% and 1.72%.
The International Monetary Fund foresees that Vietnam s economy will slow to 2.7% this year. However, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged to keep growth above 5%.