Business News

Vietnam’s industrial production surged 9.2 per cent in the first half of 2025, marking its strongest growth since 2020 and reinforcing its role as a key economic driver. The figure was revealed at a press meeting chaired by the National Statistics Department under the Ministry of Finance to announce Vietnam’s socioeconomic statistics for the second quarter and the first half of 2025 on July 5 in Hanoi.

Việt Nam is expected to remain an attractive destination for global manufacturers and foreign direct investment (FDI), even as the US moves forward with new tariffs on Vietnamese imports. As long as the tariffs imposed by the US are no more than 10 per cent higher than those applied to regional competitors, Việt Nam’s pre-existing advantages, including workforce quality, competitive costs, favourable demographics, and strategic location, will continue to drive investor interest, according to investment management firm VinaCapital.

The Vietnamese economy achieved its strongest performance in over a decade, with gross domestic product (GDP) rising by 7.52 per cent in the first half of the year, the highest since 2011, according to the Ministry of Finance’s National Statistics Office of Việt Nam (NSO). At a press conference in Hà Nội, NSO Director Nguyễn Thị Hương highlighted that this was a positive result, reflecting the whole political system’s determination, concerted efforts, and drastic actions in managing and implementing socio-economic development tasks amidst regional and global volatility.

Foreign investors registered a total of US$21.5 billion in investments in Việt Nam during the first half of 2025, marking a 33 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of Finance's Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) revealed in its latest report. Of the total, newly registered capital accounted for nearly $9.3 billion across 1,988 new projects.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, AFFP exports were valued at $33.5 billion, up 14.3 per cent, and imports at $23.5 billion, up 12.8 per cent, for the period. Tran Gia Long, deputy director of the Planning and Finance Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said, "The global economy in the first half of this year has experienced many fluctuations. However, our country’s agricultural production has remained stable and achieved decent growth."

Vietnam’s total export and import turnover in the first half of this year reached US$432.03 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.1 percent, according to the National Statistics Office. Of the figure, exports hit US$219.83 billion, up 14.4 percent while imports were estimated at US$212.2 billion, up 17.9 percent. The Southeast Asian nation enjoyed a trade surplus of US$7.63 billion in six months.

Việt Nam’s frozen durian exports tripled in the first half of this year, driven by expanded market access and increased investment in processing, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Đỗ Hồng Khanh from the Plant Production and Protection Department said at the ministry’s press conference on Thursday that 388 batches of frozen durian, or 14,282 tonnes, were shipped abroad between January and June, three times higher than the same period last year.

Vietnam’s economy is expected to expand at least 7.3% in the first half of this year, nearing the Government’s annual target and marking the highest six-month growth for the same period in nearly 20 years, according to the Ministry of Finance. Early estimates in late May put second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth at around 7.7%, bringing first-half growth to 7.3%.