VIETNAM, July 8 -  

HÀ NỘI — The index of industrial production (IIP) in the first half of this year surged 8.48 per cent over the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). 

The GSO said that the IIP in the second quarter also saw a positive increase of 9.87 per cent year-on-year as many industrial firms have resumed and gradually recovered their business activities. 

During the six months, the processing and manufacturing industry posted the highest industrial output growth of 9.66 per cent. It was followed by electricity generation and distribution (6.51 per cent), electricity production and distribution (6.1 per cent) and the mining industry (2.28 per cent).

Key industries that recorded high increases in H1 include clothing, up 23 per cent; electrical equipment (22 per cent); pharmaceutical and medical materials (17.5 per cent); leather (13 per cent); and electronics, computers and optical products (11 per cent). 

On the contrary, several industries saw a decline in industrial production, such as repair, maintenance and installation of machinery and equipment, down 11 per cent; rubber and plastic products (8.5 per cent); coke and refined petroleum products (1.4 per cent) and crude oil and natural gas (1.2 per cent).

Several key industries recorded high growth in the period, including clothes (up 22 per cent); electricity equipment (20.4 per cent); leather and leather products (13.5 per cent); electronics, computers and optical devices (11.6 per cent); and metal production (11.5 per cent).

The GSO also named key industrial products with strong IIP increases, including telephone components with 22 per cent; beer (14 per cent); urea fertiliser (13.5 per cent); processed seafood and automobiles (12 per cent) and clean coal (10 per cent).

Some products decreased compared to the previous year, such as televisions (18 per cent); aquatic feed (7 per cent); mobile phones (4.3 per cent); NPK fertiliser (4 per cent) and motorbikes (3.5 per cent). 

From January to June, the IIP rose in 61 out of 63 provinces and cities, with significant growth seen in several localities, which experienced a strong recovery in the manufacturing and processing industry thanks to the successful containment of COVID-19 such as Bắc Giang (46 per cent); Lai Châu (45 per cent); Quảng Nam (25 per cent) and Hà Giang (24 per cent).

According to the GSO, the consumption index of the processing and manufacturing industry in H1 rose  9.4 per cent compared to last year's corresponding period. In June, the index dropped 1 per cent month-on-month and advanced 9.4 per cent year-on-year.

The average inventory rate of the processing and manufacturing industry in the six months was 78 per cent, much lower than the 92 per cent recorded in the same period last year, the GSO noted. 

As of June 1, the number of employees working in industrial enterprises rose 1.3 per cent over the previous month and 5.8 per cent compared to the same month last year.

The number of employees in State-owned enterprises decreased 4.8 per cent year-on-year, while those in non-State firms slumped 0.3 per cent, and those in foreign-invested businesses increased by 7 per cent.

Manufacturing sector expansion

According to S&P Global, the Vietnamese manufacturing sector ended the first half of 2022 firmly in expansion mode as a lack of disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic supported demand and production.

Firms were also increasingly successful in hiring additional staff, with the rate of job creation quickening to a three-and-a-half-year high, S&P Global said in a report released last week.

Further marked increases were seen in both output and new orders at the end of the second quarter, as relative market stability due to a lack of pandemic disruption enabled demand to grow, adding that rates of expansion were particularly pronounced in the consumer goods category.

Rising new orders encouraged manufacturers to expand workforce numbers again during June, extending the current sequence of increasing staffing levels to three months. 

“The Vietnamese manufacturing sector ends the first half of 2022 in good health, with firms feeling that they've seen the back of the pandemic and can generate new business at a solid rate," Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said. 

The country's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted 54.0 in June, down slightly from 54.7 in May but still signalling a solid monthly improvement in the health of the sector, according to S&P Global. — VNS