Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)is carrying out procedures for infrastructure investment for two centresfacilitating industrial development in the northern and southern regions,according to the ministry's Industry Agency.

Thetwo centres, which received in-principle approval fromMoIT, will help industrial producers and enterprises supportindustries, boost innovation and technology transfer, improve productivity andquality, increase added value in their products, and take part in globalsupply chains.

Theywill also target improving science and technology capacity forenterprises in supporting industries and those in processing andmanufacturing, strengthen domestic and international cooperation inresearch and development and facilitate the application of science andtechnology, besides enhancing the public-private partnershipmechanism in technological innovation, research and development projects.

Thedevelopment and operation of such centres will help create keyeconomic zones to support businesses in promoting innovation, improvingproduction techniques and trade connections, and creating added value forthe industry.

Initially,these centres had implemented several activities tofacilitate enterprises in supporting industries in somelocalities, including bettering links among firms in the automobile industry,electronics, mechanical engineering, textiles and footwearand cooperating with multinational corporations available in Vietnamsuch as Toyota, Mitsubishi and Canon to find suitable local suppliers toparticipate in the value chain of these corporations.

TruongThanh Hoai, head of the agency, told congthuong that Vietnamesesmall and medium-sized enterprises needed support from the State until theycould compete in the global market and become a reliable production partner forthe worldwide production chain. For this, support innovation, productionmanagement systems, access to preferential credit sources, new technologies andhigh-quality human resources were essential. 

Fourmonth IIP surges 

InApril, Vietnam’s index for industrial production (IIP) increased 9.4 percentyear-on-year and 2 percent month-on-month, thanks to good control of COVID-19and enterprises taking the bigger initiative in labourers and business andproduction plans for expansion, the General Statistics Office hassaid. 

Duringthe month, the manufacturing and processing sector, which created 80 percentof industrial growth, expanded 11.3 percent year-on-year, much higher than5.8 percent and 9.6 percent seen in 2018 and 2019 - two years before thepandemic. 

Accordingto GSO, the IIP also saw a positive increase of 7.5 percent on year in thefirst four months of this year. 

Theprocessing and manufacturing industry had a yearly IIP rise of 8.3 percent. Meanwhile,the IIP growth of the electricity production and distribution industry stoodat 6.6 percent, and the mining industry and water supply and waste andwastewater treatment reached 2.6 percent and 1.1 percent,respectively. 

Keyindustries that recorded high increases in four months include clothing(up 20.1 percent); electrical equipment (19.2 percent); machinery(13.2 percent); metal production (12.8 percent); pharmaceutical (11 percent);electronics, computers and optical products (10 percent); and paperproduction(9.7 percent). 

Onthe contrary, several industries saw a decline in industrial production,such as rubber and plastic products, by 13 percent; repair,maintenance and installation of machinery and equipment (11.5 percent);coke and refined petroleum products (8.3 percent); and crude oil andnatural gas (2 percent).

Among industrialproducts with strong IIP increases in the period were telephonecomponents with 21.5 percent; fabrics made from natural fibres (13.5 percent); aluminium(13 percent); automobiles (12 percent); processed seafood (11.3 percent); freshmilk; (10 percent); and rolled steel (9.6 percent).

Someproducts decreased compared to the previous year, including televisions(19 percent); mobile phones (10 percent); gasoline and oil (9.7 percent);aquatic feed (8.4 percent); crude steel (5.8 percent); and paint (2.1percent). 

TheGSO also outlined the provinces which saw the highest IIP growth from Januaryto April, including Ha Giang (33.2 percent); Bac Giang (32.1 percent); Kon Tum(24.3 percent); Lai Chau (24.2 percent); Binh Phuoc (20.6 percent); and Hai Duong(20.4 percent).

Asof  April 1, the number of employees working in industrialenterprises rose 1.3 percent month-on-month and 4 percent year-on-year.

Labourers inState-owned enterprises decreased 4 percent year-on-year, while thosein non-State firms slumped 2.4 percent, and foreign-investedbusinesses increased 5.3 percent.

Byindustry, the number of employees working in mining enterprises decreased 2 percentyear-on-year; those in processing and manufacturing firms and water supply and wasteand wastewater treatment surged by 4.3 percent and 2 percent, respectively./.