Industrial production up 8.48 % in H1

The GSO said that the IIP in the second quarter also saw a positive increase of 9.87% 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%. It was followed by electricity generation and distribution (6.51%), electricity production and distribution (6.1%) and the mining industry (2.28%).

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

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

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

The GSO also named key industrial products with strong IIP increases, including telephone components with 22%; beer (14%); urea fertiliser (13.5%); processed seafood and automobiles (12%) and clean coal (10%). Some products decreased compared to the previous year, such as televisions (18%); aquatic feed (7%); mobile phones (4.3%); NPK fertiliser (4%) and motorbikes (3.5%).

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 Bac Giang (46%); Lai Chau (45%); Quang Nam (25%) and Ha Giang (24%).

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

The average inventory rate of the processing and manufacturing industry in the six months was 78%, much lower than the 92% 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% over the previous month and 5.8 % compared to the same month last year.

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

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./.