Most firms see bright economic prospects

Workers assemble electric appliances. Up to 85% of firms see bright economic prospect in Q4. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Upto 85% of firms have an optimistic outlook for the business environment in Q4,whereas 15% are pessimistic about the future, according to a survey conductedby the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The survey found that 44.9% of firms expect new orders from customers toincrease in Q3, whereas 13.8% forecast the opposite.

The order indicator in the non-Statesector was estimated at 31.6%, in the FDI sector at 30.8% and in the Statesector at 26.4%.

It is worth noting that 20.2% of firmsexpect a higher number of employees on the payroll in Q3, whereas 9.3% believethe number would fall.

The GSO said that high demand for construction materials, coupledwith China's falling steel output and exports, led to surging domestic steelprices.

Petrol prices had fueled the situation by causing an increase inthe prices of other materials, driving up construction costs.

The GSO called on the Government to take drastic measures tostabilise material prices, speed up construction projects and help firms accessState capital more easily.

The survey covers 6,500 firms in the processing and manufacturingsector and 6,799 in the construction sector. In Q2, it had 5,635 respondentsfrom the former and 6,315 from the latter./.

VNA