Up to 57.3 per cent of construction businesses are expected to perform better in the third quarter of 2018, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The forecast is based on a survey conducted by the GSO on over 5,300 construction firms across 63 cities and provinces nationwide.

According to the survey, 60.2 per cent of State-run construction firms said they were optimistic that the business situation in the third quarter would be better and more stable than in the second quarter.

Around 57 per cent of non-State businesses and 56 per cent of foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises also showed optimism.

The survey indicated that 48.6 per cent of enterprises said they would stabilise or reduce expenses for construction activities in Q3, while 51.4 per cent expected increasing production costs.

As many as 54.6 per cent of FDI companies forecast they would stabilise or reduce production costs. The ratio for non-State and State-owned firms was 48.3 per cent and 35.7 per cent, respectively.

In the third quarter, 48.8 per cent of businesses anticipated stable or reduced expenses for construction materials, while 51.2 per cent would increase building material costs.

A total of 57.5 per cent of FDI firms said they would maintain or reduce expenses for construction materials. The proportion for non-State and State-owned enterprises was 48.2 per cent and 37.8 per cent, respectively.

Up to 54.3 per cent of businesses said they would maintain or reduce employment costs. Some 64 per cent of FDI firms said the same, while this proportion for non-State and State-run firms was 49 per cent and 53.4 per cent, respectively. — VNS