In July, Vietnam's economy continued its momentum in Q2 2024, especially in the export and manufacturing sectors. The country exported $36.3 billion in July, a 21% YoY increase, reaching a record high due to the resurgence of goods orders from global markets, particularly the US and EU. In the first seven months of 2024, the export value reached $227 billion (+16% YoY), supported by strong growth in products such as electronics and computers (+30% YoY), machineries (+19% YoY), wooden furniture (+23% YoY), and agricultural products (+24% YoY). As a result, the manufacturing sector grew by 9.5% YoY during this period. Vietnam continues to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), with $18 billion USD registered in the first seven months of 2024, an 11% YoY increase. With the positive performance of the manufacturing sector and sustainable FDI inflows, we are positive about Vietnam's economic outlook for the second half of 2024 and 2025.
On July 10th, 2024, it was reported that CMC Corporation had launched a new data center subsidiary, CMC AI Digital Infrastructure (CMC ADI), in Vietnam. This subsidiary, dedicated to the construction and operation of hyperscale data centers, is headquartered in the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in Ho Chi Minh City. The establishment of CMC ADI aligns with CMC Corporation's strategy to tap into the growing Vietnamese data center market. The country currently hosts 22 data centers, with major tech companies like Huawei, ST Telemedia, and Alibaba planning investments. CMC Telecom, known for its high security and operational standards, was the first in Vietnam to achieve PCI DSS certification and pass the global Threat, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment (TVRA). The Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications, Nguyen Manh Hung, emphasized the need for data center investment to accommodate the country's rapid data growth. With booming Internet and social media usage, and new data localization laws requiring domestic data storage, Vietnam is poised to become a key data center hub.
Laura Ranin