The country’s index of industrial production (IIP) saw a year-on-year increase of 9.5 per cent in the first eight months of 2019, a report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) shows.

GSO statisticians said the nation’s IIP ensured a stable growth since the beginning of this year.

According to the report, the processing and manufacturing sector recorded the largest IIP rise at 10.6 per cent.

It was followed by electricity production and distribution with IIP growth of 10.2 per cent while supply and waste treatment sector and mining rose by 7.4 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

Sectors posting a high industrial growth rate  were coke and refined petroleum products at 41 per cent; metal production at 40 per cent; metal ore mining at 19 per cent; rubber and plastic production at 15 per cent in addition to furniture at 12 per cent and weaving  at 11 per cent.

From January to August, a strong IIP rise was also seen in some major industrial products such as crude iron and steel (57 per cent); petroleum (43 per cent); television (23 per cent); liquefied petroleum gas (14 per cent) and handsets (11 per cent), as per the report.

The production of electronics, computers and optical products increased by a modest 4 per cent compared with 17 per cent recorded during the same period of 2018 beside to the manufacturing of mean of transport which saw a yearly IIP decline of 5 per cent.

As of August 1, the number of workers in industrial enterprises rose 1.7 per cent month on month and 1.5 per cent year on year. Job numbers in the State sector declined by 1.9 per cent while those at domestic private companies and foreign-invested firms edged up by 0.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.

In an eight-month period, the southern economic hub of HCM City also witnessed a year-on-year growth of 7.1 per cent in industrial production, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

However, the IIP of the city’s four key sectors – food processing, chemical–rubber-plastics, mechanics and electronics – saw an increase of 5.5 per cent, nearly one percentage point lower than the average rate of the whole industry sector.

Of the four key sectors, the electronics sector saw the highest growth rate of 24 per cent. The mechanical sector was up 9.4 per cent, while the chemical–rubber-plastics rose by 0.7 per cent and the food processing sector hiked by 0.4 per cent.

Nguyễn Phương Đông, deputy director of the department said the inventory index of the city’s processing and manufacturing in August rose remarkably by 53 per cent over the same month last year.

From now to the year-end, the department planned to organise fairs to help enterprises promote consumption of their products. Its officials would regularly meet with industry executives to address their difficulties in a timely manner.

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Việt Nam’s total revenues for retail trade and services reached an estimated  VNĐ3.21 quadrillion (US$137.4 billion) in the first eight months of 2019, up 11.5 per cent year on year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced.

This positive growth proved the rising demand of local people, GSO statisticians have said, adding that if the price factor was excluded, purchasing power in the first seven months increased by 9.03 per cent, higher than the 8.9 per cent recorded in the same period of last year.

Retail sales of goods during the period were estimated at VNĐ$2.44 quadrillion ($104.9 billion), surging 12.5 per cent year on year or accounting for 76 per cent of the total revenue.

Among all sectors, purchases of educational and cultural products grew by 14 per cent year on year, followed by food and foodstuff (13.6 per cent), home appliances (11 per cent) and textiles and apparel (10.5 per cent) and transportation (8.5 per cent).

The localities with the highest purchasing power growth rates included Quảng Ninh (20 per cent); Bình Dương (18 per cent); Thanh Hóa (15 per cent); Hải Phòng (14.7 per cent) beside to Nghệ An and Bình Định (14 per cent) and Đà Nẵng (13.5 per cent). Meanwhile, two economic hubs of HCM City and Hà Nội lagged behind with respective growths of 13.3 per cent and 13 per cent.

According to GSO, revenue from accommodation and catering services rose 10 per cent year-on-year to nearly VNĐ386 trillion ($16.56 billion), making up 12 per cent of the total revenue.

During the same period, travel service revenues totaled VNĐ29.7 trillion (more than $1.27 billion), with Bình Định Province witnessing the largest increase at 19 per cent, followed by Thanh Hóa and Khánh Hòa at 15 per cent and 14.5 per cent respectively and HCM City at 13 per cent.

Revenues of other services were estimated at VNĐ355 trillion ($15.27 billion), 7 per cent higher than the same period last year.

According to the Vietnam Institute for Trade Research, the goods retail market is seeing a increase at mini marts and convenience stores.

The institute forecast that convenience stores would see double-digit growth in the next three years and reach 37.4 per cent growth in 2021.

Under the domestic trade development strategy, total sales of goods and services would grow by 13 per cent each year through 2020 and by 14 per cent per year in the 2021-25 period.

The Foreign Investment Agency’s statistics showed the wholesale and retail sector ranked third in attracting foreign direct investment in January-August period with total registered capital of $1.2 billion, accounting for 5.2 per cent of the country’s total FDI.

VNS

Vietnam is bound to play a key role in the upcoming rise of Southeast Asian economies and the country aims to reform its economy by raising its competitiveness and productivity by training human resources, mobilising funding, improving technology infrastructure, and constructing a professional innovation centre.

Given the significant and promising socio-economic growth of Vietnam in recent years, Hanoi Innovation Summit (August 29-30) aims to build a bridge between global leaders and Southeast Asia’s blooming innovation ecosystem, eyeing innovating for inclusion and sustainability in emerging economies.

The event takes place at the National Convention Centre, organised by Schoolab, a France-based innovation organisation, under the auspices of the Hanoi People’s Committee and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

The summit welcomed over 3,000 delegates. On the side of Hanoi city is Hoang Trung Hai, Party Committee Secretary, Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of the city People’s Committee, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, and embassies of several countries in Hanoi. Many giant technology companies also joined hands to support the startup ecosystem such as Vintech, Microsoft, and Samsung.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung spoke at the summit that completing the startup ecosystem is one of the government’s top priorities at the moment. The MPI is in the process of urgently finalising its startup strategy by the end of this year. This is the basis for localities to develop their strengths and take advantage of the opportunities from Industry 4.0.

The MPI will continue to expand the network to connect with Vietnamese experts working overseas to return home and contribute to the nation’s development. The establishment of the first national startup centre in Hanoi will also offer a gathering place for experts as well as promote innovation activities throughout the country.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung also committed to accompanying the Hanoi People’s Committee and startup projects to solve problems during the process of creative startup in Vietnam.

The summit focuses on six themes: smart city, consumer tech, life science, environment, mobility, and the future of work. The event will bring together more than 100 prominent speakers, 150 startups, 200 corporates, and over 3,000 visitors with the deep involvement of the central government and Hanoi authorities.

In the main discussion section, chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung asked experts on international creative startups about methods to better promote the development of starup projects in Hanoi and methods to effectively connect Hanoi’s startups with similar projects in the world.

In response to these questions, Caitlin Wiesen, resident representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, said that Vietnam is having impressive growth as well as being very close to its sustainable development goals. Vietnam is also facing many challenges before the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To address these challenges, Vietnam needs to create an environment to support innovation, in which policies must focus on removing the difficulties of startups at the fastest pace.

On behalf of the Eurocham, vice chairman Nguyen Hai Minh lauded the innovative spirit of the Vietnamese government, thereby creating confidence for European investors, saying this all points to the capital market for startups in Vietnam being very promising and profitable.

However, the Vietnamese startup ecosystem is still new, he added, so many startup projects still lack experience about legal issues to connect with investment funds. Therefore, Vietnam needs new investor networks to provide more active support as well as impart experience for startup projects.

The Vietnamese government needs more specific activities when creating a platform for startups to connect directly with investors as well as offer tax incentives for startup investment, Hai Minh recommended.