Viet Nam’s industrial output in the first five months of this year has maintained its high growth rate of 16.8 per cent, with a total value of VND225.7 trillion (US$14.1 billion), according to the estimates of the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Foreign firms make up 40 per cent of the total output, while the non-State-owned sector accounts for 36 per cent and State-owned enterprises account for 24 per cent.

In growth rates, the non-State-owned sector ranks the highest, with a rate of 20.4 per cent and a total value of VND82.2 trillion ($5.1 billion). Meanwhile, State-owned enterprises only exhibited growth rates of 7.9 per cent, for a value of VND54.1 trillion ($3.38 billion).

The foreign-invested sector in the first five months of the year produced a total value of VND89.4 trillion ($5.58 billion), a year-on-year increase of 19.3 per cent.

Automobile, electrical motor and motorbike production increased by 40.8, 40.2 and 36.5 per cent, respectively, and are part of the processing industry, which has achieved a more impressive growth rate than the average for all the sectors in the industry.

The pesticide industry produced 24,495 tonnes over the past five months, an increase of 23.9 per cent, while the steel industry produced a total volume of 1.8 million tonnes, reaching a growth rate of 20.9 per cent.

Despite the impressive results from the processing industry, the GSO also noted other sectors that exhibited low growth rates during the first five months of the year.

The power industry produced 25.9 billion kWh, a rise of only 12 per cent from the corresponding period last year. Meanwhile, the garment sector reached a growth rate of 15.4 per cent.

Some sectors saw falls in output during the period, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas, down 7.6 and 15.9 per cent, respectively.

Bicycle production continued slipping 71.3 per cent over the same period in 2006. The industry produced only 236,722 units in the past five months, according to GSO statistics.

The southern province of Binh Duong tops the list of the places developing industry the fastest with a rate of 23 per cent, followed by the southern province of Dong Nai (22.6 per cent), Ha Noi (20 per cent) and Hai Phong (18.5 per cent).

HCM City’s growth rate is 12.1 per cent.

Source:  Vietnam News