Vietnam’s industrial production falls sharply in February

Vietnam’s index of industrial production (IIP) in February fell by 16.8% against the previous month due to the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Nghi Son oil refinery complex (Photo: PTSC Thanh Hoa)
Nghi Son oil refinery complex (Photo: PTSC Thanh Hoa)

But the index rose 10.3% in comparison with the same month of 2018, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Compared with a year ago, the IIP in manufacturing went up 12.8%, power generation and distribution up 10.9% and water supply and waste treatment up 7.2%, while the mining sector declined by 5%.

In the first two months of 2019, the IIP increased by an estimated 9.2% against the same period of 2018, lower than the 13.7% growth recorded last year.

A breakdown of sectors showed manufacturing climbed 11.5%, power generation and distribution increased 9.5% and water supply and waste treatment rose by 7.9%.

Mining was the only sector to post a drop in the January-February period, down 4.7%.

Among the 63 provinces and centrally-governed cities, Thanh Hoa province recorded the largest IIP increase at 46.7% due largely to the Nghi Son Refinery which came into operation in mid-2018.

Ha Tinh province was the second best performer with its IIP up 46.2% thanks to the contribution of Formosa Steel Corporation.

Other major industrial centres in Vietnam such as Hai Phong and Vinh Phuc also registered solid growth.

According to the GSO, the number of employees working at industrial companies as of February 1, 2019, increased by 2.3% compared to a year ago.