Vietnam’s Jan-Sep industrial production index up 0.3%

Vietnam’s index of industrial production (IIP) grew 0.3% year-on-year in the first nine months of this year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported Friday.

The growth followed a 0.4% fall in January-August, it said, adding that the nine-month performance was driven by increases of 0.2% in the manufacturing-processing sector, 2.6% in electricity production and distribution, and 4.9% in waste and wastewater supply and treatment.

However, the mining sector fell 3%.

The nation’s IIP rose 3.5% year-on-year in the third quarter, much higher than a contraction of 2.6% in Q1 and 0.2% in Q2, indicating continuous recovery.

The sectors with the highest year-on-year growth in Jan-Sept were tobacco with 9.6%, plastics and plastics products with 8.7%, goods made from prefabricated metal (except for machines and equipment) with 7.4%, and chemical and chemical products with 6.2%.

The report said that the worst performers were crude oil and natural gas exploitation at negative 3.6%, manufacturing of uncategorized machines and tools at negative 4%, manufacturing of vehicles with engines at negative 5.2%, and manufacturing of other vehicles at negative 7.2%.

Some sub-sectors with strong growth were sugar with 37.1%, fertilizers with 18.6% and television with 10.1%. Some of the notably poor performers were automobiles with negative 19.3%, steel bars with negative 14.4%, and mobile phones with negative 12.8%.

Locality-wise, the best performer was the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh with 24.7%, followed by northern provinces of Bac Giang with 17.4%, Phu Tho with 16%, Nam Dinh with 14%, and Ha Nam and Thai Binh with 12.6%.

The worst performers were the central province of Quang Nam with negative 29%, followed by northern provinces of Son La with negative 19.7%, Lai Chau with negative 17.6%, Ha Giang with negative 16.3%, and Bac Ninh with negative 13.8%.

135,100 firms exit

In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam welcomed 116,300 new businesses and 48,900 firms resumed operations for 165,200 new players in total, up 1.2% year-on-year.

The wholesale, retail and vehicle repair sectors recorded the highest number of new firms with 44,673, up 12.3% year-on-year; followed by manufacturing-processing with 13,861, down 5.4%; and construction with 23,456, up 2.1%.

Meanwhile, 135,100 others left the market, up 19.9% year-on-year, including 75,800 that suspended operations, 46,100 that initiated dissolution procedures and 13,200 that completed dissolution procedures.

The grouping of wholesale, retail and vehicle repair firms recorded the highest number of dissolved companies at 4,945, up 2.1% year-on-year; followed by manufacturing-processing with 1,454, down 11.1%; construction with 975, down 23.4%; and real estate businesses with 963, up 10.7%.

Retail, service revenues up 9.7%

The total revenue of retail and services sectors increased 9.7% year-on-year to VND4,567.8 trillion ($187.77 billion) in the first nine months. The 9.7% growth was significantly lower than the 20.9% recorded in the same period of 2022, but higher than the negative 0.7% and 5% in the same periods of 2020 and 2021, respectively, when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak.

Retail sales of VND3,572.1 trillion ($146.84 billion), up 8.4%, was the biggest revenue earner. Accommodation and restaurant services posted VND500.1 trillion ($20.56 billion), up 16%; and tourism earned VND26.5 trillion ($1.09 billion), up 47.7%, indicating a robust recovery. Other activities recorded a total revenue of VND469.1 trillion ($19.28 billion), up 11.5%.