85% of businesses expect better situation in Q3: survey

Up to 85% of enterprises in the processing, manufacturing and construction sectors in Vietnam expected better or stable business situation in the third quarter of this year, according to a survey conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Only 15% predicted that the business situation may be tougher. The survey covers 6,500 enterprises in the processing and manufacturing sectors and 6,799 enterprises in the construction sector.

44.9% of the surveyed firms said they projected a rise in new orders in Q3, while 13.8% forecast a decrease. 20.2% of enterprises expected a rise in the number of their employees, while 9.3% forecast a fall.

The GSO noted that although business and production have recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic with high demand for construction materials, the price of steel on the domestic market has surged due to China’s decrease of production and export.

The rising price of gasoline has also pushed up the prices of construction materials, directly impacting the cost of projects.

The GSO advised the government to apply more drastic measures to stabilise the price of input materials for the construction sector, while rolling out solutions to speed up construction projects and creating favourable conditions for businesses to access capital from the state budget.