Over half of companies confident of better performance in Q3

Hanoi (VNA) – More than half of processing and manufacturing companies expect better business performance in Q3, according to a survey conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The survey showed 52.1 percent of the surveyed companies believe that their production and business situation will improve in the third quarter of 2017 while 12 percent anticipate more difficulties and 35.9 percent think the situation will remain stable.

About 53.4 percent of the businesses forecast their production output will increase from Q2 while 36 percent said it will remain unchanged. Only 10.6 percent said their production may decline. 

An augmentation in export orders is forecast by 40.3 percent of the questioned firms, and 49.4 percent expect the same volume of export orders as in Q3, while 10.3 percent anticipate a reduction. 

The GSO said while 20.7 percent of the respondents believe their production costs will rise from Q2, 69.7 percent said they will stay stable and 9.6 percent said the costs will reduce.

18.2 percent of the respondents said their products will be sold at higher prices in Q3 compared to the previous quarter, 74.5 percent expect unchanged prices. Only 7.3 percent of the businesses predict lower prices. 

Meanwhile, 20.1 percent of the surveyed enterprises plan to expand their workforce in the third quarter, 72.4 percent said they will maintain the current size of workforce. Only 7.5 percent said they will reduce the number of employees. 

Head of the GSO's Department of National Accounts Ha Quang Tuyen highlighted improved forecast for enterprises’ business in Q3, saying that this is one of the resources for economic growth in the remaining time of 2017.

Another resource is the growth of the private sector. In the first six months this year, more than 61,000 companies were established with total registered capital of 596 trillion VND (26.22 billion USD), up 12.4 percent in number and 39.4 percent in capital year on year.

Over 60 percent of the total investment remains to be disbursed in the second half of this year, indicating a favourable condition for realising the target of GDP growth rate of 6.7 percent in 2017, Tuyen said.-VNA