Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Total revenue fromretail trade and services in Vietnam reached an estimated 402.2 trillion VND (17.26billion USD) in January, up 4.4 percent month-on-month and 12.2 percentyear-on-year, the latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO)showed.

GSO statisticians attributed the first month’spositive increase to the rising purchasing demand of local people for theupcoming Tet holiday and efforts of enterprises in stockpiling goods to better serve the peakdemand.

The retail value of goods totaled 305.4 trillionVND, surging 5.2 percent over last December and 13.1 percent over the samemonth last year with significant sale increases seen in food and foodstuffs(13.1 percent), and textile and garments (13.4 percent), according to the report.

Among localities nationwide, the capital city ofHanoi posted the highest growth in retail sales of goods at 15.1 percent. Itwas followed by the northern port city of Hai Phong at 14.5 percent; northern BacNinh province at 14 percent; the central city of Da Nang at 13.1 percent andHCM City at 13 percent.

As per the data, retail sales of services topped43 trillion VND, representing a monthly rise of 1.8 percent and a yearlyincrease of 7.4 percent.  

Meanwhile, revenue from restaurants,accommodation and catering services was also up 1.4 percent month-on-month and7.7 percent year-on-year to 49.5 trillion VND and that from tourism hit 4.3trillion VND, a hike of 8 percent over last year’s corresponding month.  
According to the Vietnam Institute for Trade Research,the goods retail market is seeing a blooming trend of minimarts and conveniencestores.

The institute forecast that convenience storeswould see double-digit growth in the next three years and reach 37.4 percentgrowth in 2021.

Under the domestic trade development strategy,total sales of goods and services would grow by 13 percent each year through2020 and by 14 percent per year in the 2021-2025 period.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment’sstatistics showed the wholesale and retail sector ranked third in attractingforeign direct investment in 2018 with total registered capital of 3.37 billionUSD, accounting for 10.3 percent of the country’s FDI.

Last year, total retail sales of goods andservices in Vietnam reached nearly 4.4 quadrillion VND, representing a rise of11.7 percent against the previous year. That reflected strong purchasing powerin the domestic market, the GSO said.-VNS/VNA