Dang Duc Anh, head of NCEIF's Department for Analysis and Forecast was quoted on the state-run news agency VNA on Friday as saying, "under the first scenario of 5.6 percent GDP growth, processing and manufacturing industries would grow higher, while slowdown of the mining industry would be lower, than those in the first quarter (Q1)."
Besides, credit growth would continue to rise in Q2, and disbursement of state investment capital would also be higher than in Q1, according to Anh. In the second scenario, the GDP would climb up to 6.27 percent in Q2, depending on the recovery of the mining sector, strong disbursement of state investment capital and higher growth of the manufacturing industry.
To meet this year's target of 6.7 percent GDP growth, NCEIF director Nguyen Thi Mai Thu suggested the state would further stabilize the macro economy to be able to create more confidence among investors and the business community, as well as speed up disbursement of state investment capital and government bonds.
According to the country's General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam's GDP growth in Q1 this year was only 5.1 percent, lower than 6.72 percent and 5.48 percent of the same period in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Ha Quang Tuyen, director of GSO's national account department attributed the weaker rate to three main factors, including lingering effects of drought and saltwater intrusion from last year, the manufacturing slowdown and government's attempts to balance growth and exploitation of natural resources which hit the mining sector.