VOV.VN - The industrial production index (IPI) during the opening five months of the year edged up 8.3% against the same period last year, with the processing and manufacturing sector continuing to be the main driver behind the industrial sector’s growth.

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 51.7 in March from 54.3 in February, as the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread labour shortages in the manufacturing sector during March, according to S&P Global.

The Vietnamese manufacturing sector remained in recovery mode in February, seeing growth accelerate further and confidence maintained, according to the latest report of IHS Markit.

VOV.VN - There have been a number of positive signs for local industrial production during the opening five months of the year, mostly coming from the domestic processing and manufacturing sectors.

Vietnam has advantages to develop a materials industry but has not developed in line with its potential, Tran Tuan Anh, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, said at a conference held on April 10 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Stable supporting industries and restructuring of chains for industrial production are crucial to improving the country’s manufacturing sector, according to Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

Vietnam’s manufacturing sector gained growth pace at the end of the first quarter, with marked increases in output, new orders and exports, leading to stronger rises in employment and purchasing activity, according to a report by the London-based global information provider IHS Markit.

Vietnam’s industry grew 6.5% year on year in the first three months of 2020, with the manufacturing and processing sector expanding 9.45% and remaining as the main engine of the economic growth.

The processing and manufacturing sector took the lead in attracting foreign investment in the first three months to March 20, absorbing over US$5 billion, or 49.6%, announced the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) at the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Business activities in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector improved, as the number of new orders jumped in February due to the rising demand from the global market, which, in turn, saw firms raising output, staffing levels and purchasing activity.