Ho Chi Minh City yet to show signals of business recovery

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – Industrial production firms in Ho Chi Minh City have not yet showed signals of recovery due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the municipal Statistics Office, the city’s index of industrial production decreased by 5.6 percent monthly in September. In nine months of this year, the index went down 12.9 percent year-on-year, mostly manufacturing and processing, electricity production and distribution, water supply and waste treatment.

Only three sectors recorded expansion, including metal production up 3.5 percent, electrical equipment up 1.7 percent, water exploitation and supply up 0.1 percent.

Four key industries posted contraction in nine months, including electronics down 15 percent, food and beverages 14.5 percent, mechanical engineering 8.1 percent, and pharmaceuticals 7.4 percent.

Consumption index of manufacturing and processing sector slumped by 14.3 percent while that of metal production, and machinery and equipment up 11.6 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The above figures showed that local enterprises are meeting difficulties in meeting delivery schedules due to supply chain disruption.

Apart from stepping up vaccination and gradually resuming production and trade activities, the city is offering support to firms, including preferential loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, reducing lending rates, and waiving individual and corporate income taxes.

The Finance Ministry forecast that due to the serious impacts of the pandemic, firms in several sectors still find it hard to recover, especially those working in tourism, aviation and transportation./.