NDO/VNA – The southern province of Binh Duong enjoyed a trade surplus of 2 billion USD in the first two months this year, Vo Van Minh, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee has said.

Speaking at a press briefing held on March 4, Minh said that its export turnover hit 6 billion USD in two months, a year-on-year increase of 18.7 percent, while it spent more than 4 billion USD on imports, up 8.1 percent.

The province's industrial production value rose by 6.1 percent over the same period last year, while the total retail sales of goods and services in the first two months of the year surged 10.3 percent year-on-year.

The province attracted 7.1 trillion VND of domestic investment and 47 million USD of foreign direct investment, as of February 15.

By the end of February, most businesses had resumed their operation with nearly 95 percent of their employees have returned to work after Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. It is forecast that the recruitment demand of enterprises after Tet will be about 45,000 people.

The provincial leader emphasised that the province's economy has recovered strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic was brought under control.

Although the number of new infection cases in the community has increased, the rate of hospitalisations is still modest, he said, adding that this is a good condition for the province to fully reopen the economy, helping enterprises and investors feel secure to resume their production and business.

In the coming time, the province will continue to mobilise resources for economic recovery in association with the implementation of regulations on flexible adaptation to and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minh said.