HCM City (VNA), Feb. 3 -- Ho Chi Minh City 's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in January reduced by 21.4% compared to the previous month, according to the city's Department of Industry and Trade.

This year's week-long Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival that falls in January was blamed for the decreased production as the production time in the month was less than the previous month's.

Some industries in the city also saw lower production indexes, for example, the processing and manufacturing industry down 22%, electricity generation and distribution down 12.8%, water supply and waste treatment down 8.4%.

Besides, all 30/30 secondary industries decreased compared to the previous month and 15 out of the 30 industries dropped by over 20%....