National index of industrial production rises eight per cent

By Bizhub

The IIP in the first two months of this year showed a growth of 6.6 per cent against the same period last year. — VNS Photo Ngoc Ha

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam's index of industrial production (IIP) in February rose by 7.9 per cent year-on-year, but decreased by 22.3 per cent against January, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The reduction of the IIP in February, compared with January, was caused by the days off work for the traditional New Year.

GSO said the IIP in the first two months of this year showed a growth of 6.6 per cent against the same period last year, with the IIP of the processing and manufacturing industry up 8.5 per cent, electricity manufacturing and distribution up 12.8 per cent, water supply and waste treatment up 9.2 per cent.

Some products with strong IIP growth in the first months of this year against the same period of 2015 included automobiles, up 38.8 per cent, and steel bars and angle steel up 28.3 per cent. Some other products that witnessed IIP reduction included chemical paint, shoes, leather sandals and motorcycles, in addition to sugar and mobile phones.

The office also reported that many provinces and cities had shown high growth on the IIP for the first two months of this year against the same period last year, including central province of Quang Nam (65.6 per cent), northern provinces of Thai Nguyen (29.9 per cent), Hai Phong (14.7 per cent), and Hai Duong (9.2 per cent), in addition to southern provinces of Can Tho (13.4 per cent), Dong Nai (8.4 per cent), Binh Duong (5.7 per cent), and three cities of Ha Noi (8.5 per cent), HCM City (5.7 per cent) and Da Nang (9.6 per cent).

The inventory index of the manufacturing and processing industry in early February increased 8.9 per cent year-on-year, with some industries seeing growth in inventory index such as the industries involved in the production of beverages (up 56.1 per cent), metals (34.8 per cent) and motor vehicles (32.2 per cent).

The amount of employees working in industrial enterprises in early February increased by 6.2 per cent compared to the same period last year, of which employees working for State-owned enterprises increased by 0.5 per cent, non-State-owned enterprises by 4.8 per cent, and foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises by 8.6 per cent. — VNS