Manufacturing saw a strong expansion. Overall IIP rose 11.2% YoY in 8M 2018, up from 8.2% in 8M 2017. Manufacturing IIP increased 13.3%, contributing 10.2 percentage points to overall IIP growth. The opening Nghi Son refinery in June, higher production capacity at the Formosa steel plant and strong PMI should help secure a solid expansion of production in the remaining months of year.