VNStockNews.com - Vietnam's economy grew an estimated 6.4% in the second quarter from a year earlier, accelerating from growth of 5.83% in the first three months, the government statistics office said on Thursday.
Gross domestic product grew 6.16% in the first half of 2010 from the same period last year, it said.
"The higher growth rate of the second quarter suggests the economy is recovering swiftly and achieving a high growth rate," the report said.
Vietnam's government is targeting growth of 6.5% this year and between 7.0 and 7.5% for 2011.
Economists have said the pace of growth in the first half suggested Vietnam could hit its target for this year, but credit needs to accelerate to provide support.
The central bank has twice in the past month called on lenders to cut lending rates to 12-12.5% from 13-14% in an effort to boost credit growth.
Lending in the first half of the year is expected to have grown around 10% from a year ago, well below the annual target of 25%.
The statistics office also said on Thursday that industrial output in June was 14.6% higher than a year before, and output in the first half was 13.6% higher.
