VINACHEM

Vietnam 's industrial production reached 64.7 trillion VND (3.4 billion USD in May, up 13.8 percent over the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

May's results lifted total industrial production in the first five months of this year to 301.8 trillion VND (15.9 billion USD), a 13.6 percent increase over the same period last year.

GSO experts attributed the increase to the rebound of the world economy, which has helped boost domestic industrial production. Production of the country's key export staples increased as domestic producers had signed more export contracts.

Items that achieved high growth in the first five months included liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with 220,400 tonnes, up 93 percent over the same period last year; air conditioners with 281,400 units, up 45.7 percent; and tyres with 790,500 units, up 43.2 percent.

Production of cement, ceramic tiles, trucks and motorbikes also gained high growth of between 16.2 and 35.7 percent.

However, crude oil exploitation in January-May period decreased over the same period last year. The GSO reported crude oil production reached just short of 5.97 million tonnes, down 17.9 percent.

Some provinces and cities reported high growth including Vinh Phuc province up 41.9 percent, Phu Tho province up 24.1 percent and Da Nang City up 20.1 percent.

In the first five months, industrial production of domestic firms posted an increase of 12.4 percent while the growth rate of foreign-invested firms was 16.7 percent.

GSO experts forecast that the growth of industrial production in the coming months would remain the same or even higher than that of the first five months thanks to increasing exports to large markets including the EU and the US .

Rising consumption in the country's rural areas would also contribute to lifting industrial production in the coming months, they added./.

(Source: http://en.vietnamplus.vn)