VietNamNet Bridge – Officials of the Department of Planning and Investment of HCM City said that in the January-August period of 2013, more than 4,700 businesses in the city resumed business registration.

Previously, due to the impact of the economic crisis, these enterprises suspended operations for a certain period of time.

Also, during this period, over 18,300 enterprises were granted with new tax codes, bringing the total number of active enterprises in HCM City to nearly 137,000.

The resumption of these businesses shows that the economy is gradually recovering.

In HSBC Bank’s August Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Vietnam, it recorded 49.4 in August. That was an improvement on July’s 48.5 and the best reading since April. However, it remained below the 50 no-change mark, signaling a marginal deterioration of manufacturing operating conditions.

An index reading above 50 indicates an overall increase in that variable and below 50 is an overall decrease.

New orders received by Vietnam’s manufacturers continued to fall in August, extending the current run of contraction to four months. Market activity remained slow, according to panelists, and customer demand soft.

Latest data showed that new export orders also continued to decline. The marginal fall was the third in successive months. Export market conditions were reported to have remained tough, but were showing signs of stabilization.

According to a survey, there was a record increase in employment as manufacturers signaled positive expectations for activity. Profitability remained under pressure, however, as output charges were little changed, but input prices rose at the sharpest pace since March.

S. Tung