Vietnam Posts $2.2 Billion Trade Surplus

Strong growth in telephone and textile exports helped Vietnam post a $2.2 billion trade surplus in August, according to customs data released on Monday that completely confounded the government’s estimate of a $100 million deficit for the month, Reuters reported. The August surplus even surpassed Vietnam’s $2.1 billion surplus for all of last year, and was a positive signal for economic growth, which is expected to beat the government’s forecast of 6.7% target for 2018. Exports in August rose 15.6% from a month earlier to $23.48 billion, while imports rose 1.6% to $21.28 billion, the customs department said on its website. Exports in January-August rose 16.7% annually to $158.4 billion, led by shipments in smartphones, garments and electronic home appliances, and were on track to outperform the government’s full-year target for a 7-8% increase. Vietnam, the largest producer of smartphones for Samsung Electronics, shipped $45 billion worth of telephones and spare parts in the eight-month period, up 32% annually, easily outstripping the government’s estimate of $30.9 billion, the report showed.