Steel production at the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Plant in northern Thai Nguyen Province. A surge of 16.9 per cent was seen in the IPI of the heavy metal industry, followed by the textile industry with 15.5 per cent, engined vehicles production with 15.3 per cent, and electronic, computer and optical products with 14.1 per cent. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hung

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam's industrial production index (IPI) in August grew 7.3 per cent month-on-month and posted a 6.9 per cent rise in the first eight months of 2016. This is lower than the 9.8 per cent rate recorded in the same period last year due to a continuous downturn of production in the mining, processing and manufacturing industries.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), in the January-August period, the IPI of the mining industry fell 3.8 per cent, while the production of crude oil and natural gas dropped 5.5 per cent.

At the same time, the IPI of the pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical chemistry, leather and chemical industries rose modestly between 2.6-5.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, a surge of 16.9 per cent was seen in the IPI of the heavy metals industry, followed by the textile industry with 15.5 per cent, engined vehicle production with 15.3 per cent, and electronic, computer and optical products with 14.1 per cent.

In the reviewed period, the production of some industrial products soared compared to the same period last year, with the highest rises seen in television at 83.2 per cent, steel sheet at 22.3 per cent, iron and crude steel at 15.9 per cent, and cement at 15.2 per cent.

Crude oil exploitation was down 7.9 per cent, while decreases of 9.1 per cent and 9.6 per cent were recorded in the production of NPK fertiliser and mobile phones, respectively.

The GSO also reported that the central province of Quang Nam posted the highest IPI rise at 32.2 per cent, followed by the northern province of Thai Nguyen with 31.1 per cent; Hai Phong, 16.3 per cent; Da Nang, 11.5 per cent; and Can Tho, 11.4 per cent. The IPI of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Bac Ninh and Hai Duong provinces as well as HCM City was up between 6.8 and 8.9 per cent.

The office also revealed that as of August 1, the inventory index of the processing and manufacturing sectors expanded 8.9 per cent year-on-year.

Low inventory was seen in textiles, metals, chemistry and chemical products, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical chemistry, and leather.

However, the index escalated 130 per cent in electronic products, computers and optical products, 30.9 per cent in engined vehicles, 26.4 per cent in paper and paper products, 24.4 per cent in rubber and plastic products, and 20.7 per cent in other nonmetallic minerals, reported the office. — VNS