Hanoi’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in October has grown 3.1% month-on-month and 5.4% year-on-year, marking continued positive growth since May, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

Hanoi's industrial production has been on a positive trend since May. Photo: Pham Hung.

Such growth has led to an expansion of 4.4% year-on-year of the IIP in the January – October period, said the municipal Statistics Office in its monthly report. 

Upon breaking down, the mining industry’s output decreased 11.3% year-on-year between January and October, but posed little impact to the overall growth due to its modest contribution to the economy. The manufacturing and processing industry, accounting for 96.5% of total production value in the industry sector, expanded 4.3%.

Production and distribution of electricity rose 5.8% year-on-year while water supply, sewage treatment and water collection went up 5.6%.

Subsectors that increased sharply due to growing demand during the ten-month period include medicine manufacture (up 28.8% year-on-year); computers and electronic products (19%); furniture production (17.6%); food processing (10.7%), among others.

Meanwhile, major industrial subsectors that saw their output down during the period were beverage (-15.1% year-on-year), transportation vehicles (-12.3%), production of leather and related products (-4.3%), clothes (-3.7%), and industrial textile (-3.5%).

According to the report, the employment rate at industrial companies decreased by 1.7% year-on-year during the ten-month period. The rate at the state-run sector was down by 4.8%; that of the private sector contracted 1.9%, and that of the foreign-invested sector dipped 0.6%.

In terms of economic sectors, the employment rate in manufacturing and processing sector declined by 1.4% year-on-year; followed by electricity production and distribution (-3.9%); water supply, sewage treatment and water collection (-1.2%); and mining (-21.1%).

Number of enterprises suspending operation surges 50%

In the January – October period, Hanoi’s exports slightly rose by 0.1% year-on-year to US$13.2 billion, and imports were down 9% to US$23.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of US$10.3 billion.

Export items that recorded strong growth in the first ten months were wood and wooden products with US$426 million, up 5.8% year-on-year; rice with US$343 million (23.3%); glass and products made from glass with US$294 million (1.9%), among others.

The city's state budget revenue dwindled 7% year-on-year to VND208 trillion (US$8.97 billion), or 74.6% of the year’s estimate, of which revenue from export – import activities was VND15 trillion (US$645 million), or 81.5% of the estimate and down 3.9%;  crude oil was VND1.99 trillion (US$85.7 million), or 94.8% of the estimate and down 23.6%, and domestic revenue totaled VND191.04 trillion (US$8.22 billion), or 78.7% of the estimate and down 1.1%.

Meanwhile, Hanoi spent VND54.7 trillion (US$2.35 billion) in the ten-month period, or 53% of the estimate and up 5% year-on-year, including VND22.84 trillion (US$985.22 million) on capital expenditure and VND31.7 trillion (US$1.36 billion) on recurrent spending.

Notably, foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments to Hanoi in the year to October 20 hit US$3.13 billion, ranking third nationwide and accounting for 13.3% of total. The investors registered to pour US$660 million into 450 fresh projects, and an additional US$1.25 billion into 130 existing projects. They have also injected US$1.21 billion to acquire stakes or contribute capital in local companies.

Meanwhile, nearly 22,500 enterprises were established during the ten-month period with registered capital of VND288.7 trillion (US$12.42 billion), down 4% in the number of enterprises and 13% in capital year-on-year. The number of enterprises suspending operations during the period surged 50% year-on-year to 9,972, while 5,690 resumed operations, up 17%.

The consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, declined 0.12% month-on-month in October and 0.1% versus last December, but up 1.88% year-on-year. This resulted in an average expansion of 3.15% year-on-year in the first ten months of this year.

Total retail sales of consumer goods and services in Hanoi in the ten-month period are estimated at VND474.6 trillion (US$20.47 billion), up 2.2% year-on-year.

In October, the number of foreign tourists coming to Hanoi surged 20% against the previous month to 20,000, but down 94.9% year-on-year. Of the total, tourists from South Korea stood at 6,800, up 21.9% month-on-month, followed by Japan with 2,500, up 9.8%, and China with 2,400, up 30.6%. The majority of foreign arrivals to Hanoi are experts and investors.

Overall, the total number of foreign tourists to Hanoi in the ten-month period was 764,000, down 79% year-on-year, while the domestic ones reached 1.83 million, down 81.9%.