Most firms see bright economic prospects

Workers assemble electric appliances. Eighty-five per cent of firms see bright economic prospect in Q 四. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Up to  八 五 per cent of firms have an optimistic outlook for the business environment in Q 四, whereas  一 五 per cent are pessimistic about the future, according to a survey conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The survey found that  四 四. 九 per cent of firms expect new orders from customers to increase in Q 三, whereas  一 三. 八 per cent forecast the opposite.

The order indicator in the non-State sector was estimated at  三 一. 六 per cent, in the FDI sector at  三0. 八 per cent and in the State sector at  二 六. 四 per cent.

It is worth noting that  二0. 二 per cent of firms expect a higher number of employees on the payroll in Q 三, whereas  九. 三 per cent believe the number would fall.

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

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

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

The survey covers  六, 五00 firms in the processing and manufacturing sector and  六, 七 九 九 in the construction sector. In Q 二, it had  五, 六 三 五 respondents from the former and  六, 三 一 五 from the latter. — VNS