(KPL/VNA) Vietnam's index of industrial production (IIP) in the January – November period rose 8.4% from the same period last year, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).

During the 11-month span, the manufacturing – processing sector witnessed an increase of 9.7%, contributing 8.5 percentage points to the overall IIP growth, while the electricity production and distribution industry recorded a rise of 10.2%, contributing 0.9 percentage point to the IIP expansion.

The highest increase was seen in the production of rubber and plastic (25.6%), followed by furniture production (24.7%), motor vehicle manufacturing (18.3%), and production of coke and refined petroleum products (14.5%).

In the meantime, several sectors experienced a fall in the index, including crude oil and natural gas exploitation (12.2%) and extraction of hard coal and lignite (5.3%).

Statistics from the GSO showed that 60 provinces and centrally-run cities posted increases in their IIP while three others saw decreases in the period. Provinces demonstrating robust growth were primarily driven by strengths in manufacturing, electricity production and distribution, and mining sectors. Conversely, others experienced contractions, particularly in manufacturing and electricity production industries.

Several key industrial products experiencing substantial year-on-year growth comprised automobiles (22.4%), steel bars and angles (21.7%), fiber textiles (16%), and oil and gas (15.9%). In stark contrast, those showing significant reductions were natural gas (17.8%), liquefied petroleum gas (14%), and crude oil extraction (6%), among others.

With a view to developing the industrial sector, the GSO proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade continue promoting industrial restructuring towards reducing the share of assembly activities and increasing the proportion of processing and manufacturing industries. Besides, the ministry should work to remove bottlenecks for enterprises so that they could sharpen their competitive edge while enhancing the localisation rates and completing institutions, policies and strategies to develop several basic industries.

KPL