Vietnam's socio-economic situation in October and the ten months of this year showed signs of recovery, with numerous bright spots, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Tran Van Son told a press conference in Hanoi on November 4.

The macro economy continued to remain stable, inflation was curbed, growth was promoted, while major balances of the economy were guaranteed. Public debt, government debt, national foreign debt, and state budget overspending were well controlled, he noted.

The average consumer price index (CPI) in 10 months increased by 3.2%, lower than the set target of about 4.5%. State budget revenue in the reviewed period reached nearly 1.4 quadrillion VND (57 billion USD), equal to 86.3% of the estimate.

Exports in October climbed by 5.9% and imports increased by 5.2% compared to the same period last year. In the 10 months, the country enjoyed a trade surplus of 24.61 billion USD as compared to 9.56 billion USD in the same period last year.

The agricultural product export was a bright spot, reaching 43.08 billion USD in 10 months. Industrial production experienced a positive recovery, with the Index of Industrial Production in October expanding 5.5% from September and 4.1% over the same period last year while the ten-month period rising 0.5%.

Service trade activities maintained a high growth rate with the retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in ten months gaining 9.4% over the same period last year. International visitors to Vietnam in ten months reached nearly 10 million, 4.2 times higher than the same period last year, far exceeding the target of 8 million set for 2023.

In the first ten months, there were 183,600 enterprises entering and re-entering the market, which was higher than the number of those exiting the market.

Son revealed that the total registered foreign direct investment (FDI) capital reached more than 25.76 billion USD, an increase of 14.7% over the same period last year. The total realised FDI capital continued to upsurge, reaching 18 billion USD, a year-on-year expansion of 2.4%. Many large, high-tech companies and corporations have committed to investing in the country./