According to the Vietnam News Service in an October 2, 2007 report, industrial output through the first nine months of this year reached VND418.76 trillion (US$26.1 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 17.1 percent.

Production of furniture and household equipment showed an increase of 20 to 35 percent, textiles 15-20 percent, but it was the relatively new shipbuilding sector that has been a more recent focus of the government that led the pack, contributing 40 percent of the total increase of the industrial output.

Other industrial sectors that achieved high output growth include ceramic tiles (27.7 percent), beer (36.5 percent), and office facility materials (45 percent).

Vehicles assembled locally increased 63.9 percent while production of construction materials rose between 12 and 25 percent.

Industrial output growth is regarded as a healthy sign for the continuing growth of the overall economy, stimulating further investment in industry. Last year, for instance, investment rose 20 per cent year-on-year.  Last year was a banner year for Vietnam and 2007 looks like it will follow suit.

But the news was not all of increases, several products posted negative growth, including crude oil, falling 10.4 percent, and liquid gas, falling 10 percent.

By type of ownership, the non-State owned sector continued to show the strongest growth, at 20.9 percent, providing 36.4 percent of total industrial output. The foreign-invested sector ranked second with 18.3 percent output growth, and the State-owned sector achieved the lowest growth of 10.3 percent, representing 25.2 per cent of total output.
 
 
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