The prosperity of the industrial sector in Thai Nguyen was shown through the industrial production index (IIP) in May, which grew almost 9 per cent over the same period in 2023. This year has also eyed the second ever highest IIP increase in May compared to the same month in the past five years.

A modern production line at Samsung Thai Nguyen complex, Photo: Le Toan

In the first five months of this year, the province’s IIP is estimated to surge 7 per cent on-year; in which the consumption index of the processing and manufacturing sector showed a 22.7 per cent jump on-year, while the index sank 3.84 per cent in the first five months of 2023.

In terms of products, the groups of items with estimated production output in May showing upbeat growth compared to the same period last year encompass steel and iron reaching 106,800 tonnes, up 88.9 per cent; garments with 10 million units, up 18.7 per cent; tablets 800,000 units, up 10.8 per cent; television cameras 9.1 million units, up 38.6 per cent; and motor vehicles’ spare parts with 9.5 million units, up over 45 per cent, to name but a few.

Major businesses in the sector also witnessed impressive results. The first quarter financial report announced by Samsung Electronics showed that their Thai Nguyen complex is the facility that contributed the most revenue and profit to the tech giant, at $8.16 billion and $707 million respectively, out of the $16.25 billion in total revenue and nearly $1.2 billion in total profit of Samsung’s four factories in Vietnam.

In Q1, the total revenue of Samsung’s four factories in Vietnam accounted for about 30 per cent of Samsung’s global revenue, up $2 billion compared to Q4/2023, while their profit represented more than 23.5 per cent of Samsung’s total global profit.

Meanwhile, by the end of May, Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel JSC raked in nearly $189 million in gross production, equal to almost half of the full-year projection. It produced more than almost 121,000 tonnes of steel billets, equal to 60 per cent of the full-year plan, 311,700 tonnes of rolled steel, reaching half of the plan; nearly 299,800 tonnes of rolled steel (46 per cent of the annual plan); and reporting $262.3 million in total revenues, also equal to half of the full-year plan.

Meanwhile, according to a recent report by RongViet Securities, TNG Investment and Trading JSC, a key business in the textile and garment sector in Thai Nguyen, will have sufficient orders until Q4. It forecasts that the company’s post-tax profit in Q2 could amount to $4.54 million, soaring 88 per cent on-year.

It is also estimated that for the whole of 2024, the parent company TNG could post $12.4 million in post-tax profit, up 37 per cent on-year, a record post-tax profit for the company.

In 2024, Thai Nguyen sets to achieve 7.5 per cent growth in regional GDP growth target, and the industry-construction sector will continue to be the main growth driver, striving to increase by 8.1 per cent.

At the 33rd meeting of Thai Nguyen People’s Committee in May, Chairman Trinh Viet Hung asked for more solutions to improve the local investment environment, enhance provincial competitiveness, and build modern infrastructure. The locality must diversify investment activities and, at the same time, ensure administrative reforms to lure investment and create new space for development.

As the global market rebound is instrumental to increased export order intake, Thai Nguyen’s import-export industry has also reported positive results in the first five months of this year.

In May, the total commodity import-export value approximated $3.4 billion, up 24 per cent on-year. In the first five months, total commodity import-export value came to $20.5 billion, up 18.3 per cent on-year.

Some commodity groups with strong increases in export value compared to last year include phones, tablets, and other electronics items generating more than $12 billion, up 20.8 per cent; paper and paper products $1.7 million, up 11.6 per cent; and photovoltaic cells and solar modules $463.9 million, up 2.6 per cent.