Vietnam's economy grew more than analysts estimated as exports climbed,even as banks struggled to meet the government's lending target.
Gross domestic product rose 6.04 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier,according to data released by the General Statistics Office in Hanoi on Monday.For the full year,the economy grew 5.42 percent,compared with a median estimate of 5.3 percent in a Bloomberg survey.
Manufacturers from Samsung Electronics Co.to Nokia Oyj have boosted Vietnam's exports,which grew 16.2 percent in the 11 months through November from a year earlier.That has helped offset faltering local demand and bank lending,as the government takes steps to resolve bad debt and overhaul the financial system.
"Exports look like they were more supportive to growth in the fourth quarter than earlier in the year,"Matt Hildebrandt,a Singapore-based economist at JPMorgan Chase&Co.,said before the report."You're probably going to see a boost to growth from the external side."
The benchmark VN Index has climbed about 22 percent this year,the biggest gain among major Southeast Asian indexes.The dong has slipped more than 1 percent.Vietnam devalued the currency in June for the first time since 2011.
Vietnam's growth is being supported by exports and foreign investment,the International Monetary Fund said this month.The country's exports-to-GDP ratio increased to 75 percent last year from 56 percent in 2009,according to IMF data.
The government has approved$13.8 billion of new foreign projects this year through Nov.20,an increase of 73 percent from a year earlier,official data show.
"The Mekong region,led by Vietnam,is evolving into a strategic manufacturing destination for multinational corporations,"said Eugenia Victorino,a Singapore-based economist at Australia&New Zealand Banking Group Ltd."We see foreign direct investment as supportive of the export industry."
Still,year-to-date retail sales growth in November was slower than a year earlier.The monetary authority said on Dec.16 that bank lending may rise about 9 percent this year,lower than an earlier target of 12 percent.It has cut the refinancing rate to 7 percent from 15 percent at the beginning of 2012.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung plans to complete a revamp of state-owned enterprises by 2015 and has set up an asset management company to clear bad debt at lenders.The economy may grow 5.4 percent in 2014,the World Bank said this month,slower than a government target of 5.8 percent.