Both the service and agriculture sectors failed to meet their growth targets for the year, Kikeo Chanthabouly, deputy minister of planning and investment, told members of the National Assembly (NA) last week.

The calculation was based on initial reports provided by sectors and local authorities, he told the meeting of the NA’s Planning, Finance and Auditing Committee and government bodies in charge of economic affairs in Vientiane.

But it was believed that gross domestic product (GDP) growth could climb higher if final reports that incorporate comprehensive information were taken into account.

“Just calculating based on initial reports, the growth rate has already reached 6.8 per cent,” Kikeo said.

GDP amounted to 140,102 billion kip (Bt560 billion) with GDP per capita equivalent to US$2,472 (Bt81,831) (based on a population size of 6,916,402).

The deputy minister said the economy continued to grow over the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.

According to the calculation, the service sector continues to make the biggest contribution to GDP, accounting for 42.1 per cent, even though it failed to meet the target set for this year.

The service sector grew by 6.1 per cent, less than the target of 7.8 per cent. The agriculture sector, which accounted for 16.3 per cent of GDP, grew by just 2.8 per cent, less than the target of 3.1 per cent.