Thai Nguyen is currently home to five industrial zones, photo Le Toan

Tran Quang, director of Thai Nguyen Statistics Office, noted that in July its index of industrial production (IIP) posted the highest level in the year to date, up 8.96 per cent over the previous month and 3.13 per cent on-year, ranking second nationwide in IIP growth in the month.

Of note, the IIP of several major industries eyed a spike compared to June, such as the IIP of the processing and manufacturing sector rose 9.47 per cent, in which that of electronics, computer, and optical products hiked 10.8 per cent.

Generally in the first seven months of 2023, the province’s IIP surged 3.88 per cent on-year. That of the processing and manufacturing sector rose 3.86 per cent; of water supply, waste, and wastewater treatment and management sector climbed 19.3 per cent on-year, among others.

Several groups of industrial products eyed more than 10 per cent jump on-year in the production volume, such as tungsten and its products reaching 13,500 tonnes, up 13.67 per cent and equal 62.85 per cent of full-year projection; medical equipment and other instruments reaching 964.6 million units, up 14.79 per cent; and power output surpassing one billion kWh, up 11.6 per cent.

Nguyen Van Thoi, chairman of apparel maker TNG JSC, shared that so far the year, thanks to efficient work with forecasting and expediting a raft of measures for equipment and technology innovation to bolster quality and competitiveness, the company has secured big export orders to markets in western Europe.

This came amid challenging times in both the global and domestic market, exacerbated by still high inflation and budget tightening by consumers.

In July, TNG raked in $33 million in total revenue, up 11.5 per cent over June. Generally, in the first seven months, the company counted $173.8 million in cumulative total profit, up more than 3 per cent jump on-year.

Similarly, many other firms in the province also witnessed a fair growth in the production output and consumption in July, including Samsung Electronics Thai Nguyen, Glonics Thai Nguyen, Alutech Vina, Diesel Song Cong, and Cao Ngan Thermal Power Company.

Thai Nguyen is oriented to grow into one of smart and modern-oriented industrial development centres in the northern midland and highland regions as well as Hanoi.

In which the processing and manufacturing sector is placed high on the agenda, with cutting-edge and highly specialised sectors and groups of industrial items at high-value links in the value chain.

Besides that, priority shall be given to mechanical manufacturing, electronic and metal production branches, alongside the branches and industrial items that employ state-of-the art and environmentally friendly technologies and generate high added value.

This is one of key targets set in Thai Nguyen master planning for this decade with a vision towards 2050, which was approved in March.

To materialise the target of turning Thai Nguyen into a smart and modern-oriented industrial hub in the country, Ha Van Duong, director of Thai Nguyen Department of Planning and Investment, revealed that the province would focus on development and expansion of 11 industrial zones (IZs) covering 4,245 hectares, and 41 industrial clusters spanning over 2,000ha. Currently, Thai Nguyen is home to five IZs covering over 1,470ha in total.

By the end of 2022, the province’s industrial production gross value surpassed $39.32 billion, up 27-fold compared to 2013, ranking fourth in industrial production gross value nationwide. In which, the processing and manufacturing sector held the lion’s share, touching 99 per cent.

Experts assume that the scale of industrial production and export business of Thai Nguyen could be swelling in the years to come as more and more projects come into stable production and consider continual expansion.

As for business performance, according to the Vietnam White Book, Thai Nguyen is the only locality in the northern midlands and highland regions surfaces in the list of localities having businesses which generate over $2 billion in annual profit.

In addition, Thai Nguyen leads the country in the average revenue increase in enterprises during the period from 2016-2020 compared to 2011-2015. Specifically, businesses in Thai Nguyen eyed a revenue increase of about 312.4 per cent. Moreover, the province also made it into the list of localities with the highest return on assets nationwide in 2020, reaching 9.9 per cent.