Construction steel sales will grow in the coming months as the government plans to boost investment in construction projects to help achieve economic expansion of about 5.2 percent this year,” Hanoi-based Tam said by phone Thursday. The association earlier forecast an increase of 20 percent for the sales of the products this year.

The Southeast Asian nation has subsidized loans, introduced tax exemptions, and increased investments to bolster economic growth. Vietnam’s economy grew 3.9 percent in the first half, according to the General Statistics Office in Hanoi.

Sales of steel used as building materials, known as long products, rose 23 percent this year through the end of August from the same period a year earlier, to 2.7 million metric tons, according to Tam, citing reports by the association’s 75 member companies, which account for about 85 percent of Vietnam’s steel makers.The association expects sales of construction steel next year to increase at least 12 percent as the government targets economic growth of 6.5 percent, Tam said.