Under Resolution 23-NQ/TW to develop the national industry until 2030, with a vision up to 2045, issued recently by the Politburo, the processing and manufacturing industries will make up some 30 per cent.

The value of high-tech processing and manufacturing products is targeted to reach at least 45 per cent, while industrial labour productivity will increase by 7.5 per cent on average annually.

The industrial growth rate will average over 8.5 per cent, of which the processing and manufacturing industry will see a rise of 10 per cent yearly.

The resolution also sets the country’s competitive industrial performance index among the top three countries in the ASEAN, while the percentage of workers in the industrial and service sectors is over 70 per cent.

Under the new plan, the Politburo aims to finalise the country’s industrialisation and modernisation targets and become one of the top three countries in industry in the ASEAN by 2030.

To meet the targets, Viet Nam will focus on changing the restructuring of the industry, besides issuing policies on business, investment, human resources and science and technology to develop the industry, especially prioritised segments.

Some large industrial clusters will also be built to link domestic industrial enterprises and help them gain international competitiveness.

According to experts, the development of the industry will be the key driver to boost the country’s GDP growth in the first quarter of this year.

The National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCIF) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment estimated the GDP growth in Q1 will be 6.23 per cent, much higher than the 5.15 per cent seen in the same period last year. Of this growth, industry and construction will lead all sectors, with a growth rate of 6.87 per cent.

Dang Duc Anh, head of the NCIF’s Department of Analysis and Forecast, said the surge of 17 per cent in the manufacturing and processing industries in the first two months of this year will drive the whole industry sector.

GDP growth in 2018 is now predicted to hit 6.83 per cent, higher than the NCIF’s forecast in December last year.

The Government’s efforts to remove challenges for businesses are expected to help boost the industry and construction sectors, NCIF said.

Major projects in the processing and manufacturing sectors and the newly signed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership are predicted to lift investment and trade.

The GSO’s Business Sentiment Survey of manufacturing and processing enterprises released recently also showed that 48.2 per cent of businesses were optimistic that the trend would improve, 35.7 per cent of businesses believed business would be stable and 16.1 per cent of enterprises predicted more difficulties.