Viet Nam’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) posted a 6.5 per cent year-on-year increase in the first seven months of the year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

But GSO experts said it was lower than the 7.2 per cent rate in the first seven months of 2016. They also warned that the growth of the national IIP in the first seven months was not sustainable because the index of inventory rose by 10.4 per cent year-on-year, higher than the inventory index of 10.2 per cent in the first seven months of 2016.

According to the GSO figures, the IIP of the manufacturing and processing sector rose by 10.6 per cent over the same period last year. However, the mining sector, one of key industrial production sectors, saw a 7.5 per cent IIP drop during the first seven months.

Several production sectors surged on the IIP, including metal production (35.4 per cent), electronics, computer and optical products (15.2 per cent), and paper production (10.4 per cent).

Output of some industrial products reached high growth during this period, such as televisions, up by 36.6 per cent to 5.98 million units; rolled steel products, up 25.2 per cent to 3.6 million tonnes; urea fertilizer products, up 15.2 per cent to 1.42 million tonnes; and electricity, up 8.2 per cent to 108 billion KWh.

Many other products experienced lower growth or reduction in output, including motorbikes, coal, mobile phones, auto, crude oil and gas.

The office said the consumption index of the processing and manufacturing sector achieved a year-on-year increase of 8.4 per cent in the seven months, contributing to the growth of the national IIP.

New firms

Meanwhile, 72,953 new enterprises were established in the first seven months of this year with a total registered capital of VND690.74 trillion (US$30.39 billion), an annual increase of 13.8 per cent in the number of enterprises and 39 per cent in registered capital.

But department experts said the growth rate of new firms and registered capital in the first seven months of 2017 had dropped sharply against the increase of 23.3 per cent and 54.7 per cent, respectively, in the first seven months of 2016.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Department for Business Registration Management, during the January-July period, 21,383 enterprises registered to expand their investment capital with a total supplemented capital of VND979.73 trillion.

The average registered capital per enterprise was reported at VND9.5 billion, up 22.2 per cent over the same period last year.

The department said the number of newly-established enterprises has increased in almost every sector compared to the corresponding period last year, including 2,706 new enterprises in the real estate sector, up 68 per cent; 812 new firms in the financial, banking and insurance sector, up 31 per cent; and 385 new ones in the health sector, up 31 per cent.

Only the shipping and warehouse sector witnessed a 6 per cent decrease in the number of newly-established enterprises.

Meanwhile, 17,549 enterprises nationwide resumed operations in the first seven months of the year, an annual increase of 5 per cent. However, 15,866 enterprises registered for the temporary suspension of business activities, up 16 per cent over the same period last year, while 27,408 others ceased operations or are waiting to be dissolved, up 21 per cent over the same period last year.

A few sectors reported a higher number of workers compared to the same period last year, including the financial, banking and insurance sector, up 48 per cent; the health and social work sector, up 34 per cent; the education and training sector, up 26 per cent.

The total number of registered workers by newly-established enterprises in the January-July period was over 720,700, down 3.2 per cent against the same period last year. — VNS