Industrial production maintains positive growth momentum, foreign investment continues to increase sharply, business activities are more vibrant along with the recovery of consumption and tourism are the outstanding bright spots of the socio-economic picture of the first 5 months of 2026 just announced by the Statistics Office.
Industry grows highest in 4 years
According to the Statistics Office, industrial production in May continued to maintain positive growth momentum. The index of industrial production (IIP) in May 2026 is estimated to increase by 3.3% compared to the previous month and 8.8% compared to the same period last year.
In general, in the first 5 months of 2026, IIP increased by 9.1% compared to the same period last year, which is the highest increase of the same period in the 2022-2026 period.
The main driving force continued to come from the processing and manufacturing industry when it increased by 9.5%, contributing 7.4 percentage points to the overall growth of the entire industry. In addition, the mining industry increased by 5.5%; the electricity production and distribution industry increased by 7.6%; the water supply, waste and wastewater treatment industry increased by 9.5%.
Many key industries recorded double-digit growth such as metal production increasing by 20.2%; motor vehicle production increasing by 18%; chemical and chemical product production increasing by 16.9%; production of other non-metallic mineral products increasing by 16.2%; beverage production increasing by 15.1%.
Not only has production improved, the industrial labor market also recorded positive signals when the number of workers working in industrial enterprises at May 1 increased by 3.4% compared to the same period last year.
More than 142,000 businesses enter the market
Business registration activities continued to improve in the first months of the year.
In May alone, the whole country had more than 17,000 newly established businesses with a total registered capital of more than 280.9 trillion VND. Compared to the same period last year, the number of newly established businesses increased by 12.5%, while registered capital increased by 79.3%.
Accumulated in the first 5 months of the year, the whole country had more than 94.8 thousand newly established enterprises with a total registered capital of nearly 1,066.3 trillion VND, an increase of 42.1% in the number of enterprises and an increase of 64.8% in registered capital compared to the same period last year.
In addition, nearly 47.8 thousand businesses returned to operation, an increase of 6.1% compared to the same period in 2025.
In general, the total number of newly established and returning businesses in the first 5 months of the year reached more than 142.6 thousand businesses, an increase of 27.6% compared to the same period last year. On average, about 28.5 thousand businesses enter the market each month.
By economic sector, newly established enterprises in the fields of agriculture, forestry and fishery increased by 56%; industry and construction increased by 52.7%; services increased by 38.7%.
However, pressure on the business sector remains when the number of businesses withdrawing from the market in the first 5 months reached 129.3 thousand businesses, an increase of 15.8% compared to the same period last year.
Registered FDI capital increases by nearly 35%
Investment continues to be one of the notable bright spots of the economy.
Investment capital implemented from the State budget in the first 5 months of 2026 is estimated to reach 254.1 trillion VND, equal to 24% of the annual plan and an increase of 11.2% compared to the same period last year.
Notably, total registered foreign investment capital into Vietnam as of May 31st reached 24.81 billion USD, an increase of 34.9% compared to the same period last year.
In which, there are 1,576 newly licensed projects with a total registered capital of 14.84 billion USD, an increase of 1.7% in the number of projects and 2.1 times in registered capital compared to the same period last year.
The processing and manufacturing industry continues to be the sector attracting the largest new investment capital with 9.64 billion USD, accounting for 65% of the total newly registered capital.
Among the 58 countries and territories with new investment projects in Vietnam, Singapore is the largest investor with 6.8 billion USD, accounting for 45.9% of total newly registered capital; followed by South Korea with 4.22 billion USD and China with 1.79 billion USD.
Meanwhile, FDI capital implemented in Vietnam in the first 5 months of the year is estimated at 9.75 billion USD, an increase of 9.6% compared to the same period last year.
Trade maintains high growth but appears trade deficit
Import and export activities continued to maintain large scale with total turnover in the first 5 months of the year reaching 445.12 billion USD, an increase of 25% compared to the same period last year.
Of which, exports reached 215.66 billion USD, up 19.5%; imports reached 229.46 billion USD, up 30.8%.
The United States continues to be Vietnam's largest export market with a turnover of 69.6 billion USD. In the opposite direction, China is the largest import market with a turnover of 92.6 billion USD.
Due to imports increasing faster than exports, the trade balance of goods in the first 5 months of the year recorded a trade deficit of 13.8 billion USD, while in the same period last year there was a trade surplus of 5.1 billion USD.
Consumption and tourism continue to recover
Domestic demand maintains a positive trend when the total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in the first 5 months of the year is estimated at 3,185 trillion VND, an increase of 11.2% compared to the same period last year. If excluding price factors, the increase reached 6.1%.
Tourism continues to be a bright spot of the service sector. In May, international visitors to Vietnam were estimated at 1.78 million, an increase of 16.5% compared to the same period last year.
In general, in the first 5 months of the year, international visitors to Vietnam reached 10.6 million, an increase of 14.9% and the highest level in the first 5 months of the year to date.
Inflation under control
The consumer price index (CPI) in May increased by 0.29% compared to the previous month; increased by 5.6% compared to the same period last year and increased by 3.61% compared to December 2025.
On average, in the first 5 months of 2026, CPI increased by 4.31% compared to the same period last year, while core inflation increased by 4.04%.
According to the Statistics Office, core inflation is lower than the general average CPI mainly due to strong fluctuations in gasoline, gas and food prices, causing CPI to increase, while these factors are excluded from the core inflation calculation list.
With industrial production increasing the most in many years, foreign investment capital continuing to expand, the business community maintaining vitality and trade, consumption, and tourism activities growing positively, the socio-economic picture of the first 5 months of 2026 shows that the economy is maintaining a relatively solid recovery and development momentum, creating a foundation for growth targets in the remaining months of the year.
