Vietnam's GDP growth slows in first quarter

Vietnam's economy slowed in the first quarter of 2016, official figures showed Friday, hampered by low oil prices and an ongoing drought that has hit the agricultural sector hard.

The dip followed last year's record GDP growth at 6.68 percent, a boom fuelled by a flurry of international interest in the communist country.

The first three months of 2016 saw GDP growth drop to 5.46 percent, down from 6.12 percent for the same period last year, according to data released by the General Statistics Office.

"Cold spells in the north, drought... had a major impact on domestic production, especially agriculture, industry and exports during the period," GSO director Nguyen Bich Lam told the official VietnamPlus news website.