Friday, January 23, 2004
Vietnam's January trade deficit estimated at $170 mn
Reuters Hanoi, January 21
Vietnam is expected to report a trade deficit in January of around $170 million, compared with a shortfall of $290 million in the same month last year.
In January, Vietnam's exports are estimated at $1.65 billion against imports of $1.82 billion, the official Vietnam News Agency said, citing a report from the General Statistics Office.
The exports show an increase of 2.2 per cent over the same period in 2003 while imports are up 12.1 per cent, the agency said in the report which was issued late on Tuesday.
Exports by the foreign-invested sector were expected at $882 million in January, a 10 per cent increase while the domestic sector earnings were seen at $768 million, a 5.6 per cent drop from the same month a year earlier.
Vietnam has been reporting trade deficits because of the need to bring in heavy machinery and other capital goods to equip its factories. Its economy, averaging around seven per cent a year, is the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.