Vietnam’s economy has shown signs of a rebound as its gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of this year rose 5.66 percent over the same period last year, according to data released by the General Statistics Office (GSO) at a press briefing in Hanoi on Friday.

During the January-March quarter, the agro-forestry-fishery, industry-construction, and service sectors inched up 2.98 percent, 6.28 percent, 6.12 percent, contributing 6.09 percent, 41.68 percent, and 52.23 percent to the total GDP growth, respectively.

Also, the number of newly-founded companies and those resuming operations reached 59,900 this quarter, representing a 5.1-percent year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, up to 73,900 businesses pulled out of the market during the said period, marking a rise of 22.8 percent against the 2023 figure.

The country therefore recorded a decline of 14,100 units in the total number of active businesses in the first quarter.

As for the tourism industry, the Southeast Asian nation welcomed an estimated 4.6 million tourist arrivals, surging 72 percent versus last year and improving 3.2 percent compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Regarding the local stock market, its benchmark VN-Index grew stronger than the year-end period of 2023.

Around VND22.5 trillion (US$899,000) worth of shares changed hands each session on average during the first quarter, edging up 28.2 percent against the 2023 figure.

The country also witnessed some positive signals in trading activities, as its import-export turnover improved 15.5 percent year over year at more than $178 billion, with goods exports inching up 17 percent against last year to $93.06 billion and imports rising 13.9 percent to $84.98 billion.

This means Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of $8.08 billion in the first quarter.

The GSO added that inflation went up 3.77 percent from a year earlier.

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