In the last months of 2021, although the socio-economic situation in the city began to show signs of recovery, the GRDP decreased by 6.78 percent. Fortunately, in the first quarter of this year, HCMC has recovered robustly in all three economic sectors.
From the sharp declines of 24.97 percent and 11.64 percent, respectively, in the third quarter and the fourth quarter of 2021, up to now, the economy of HCMC has gradually stabilized and recovered with positive growth of 1.88 percent and is growing in a positive tendency. After an unprecedented period, HCMC has recovered and stood up to flourish and trigger new vitality.
These initial sweet fruits are obtained by many good "causes". First of all, it is thanks to the dynamic and creative tradition of HCMC. The great strength comes from the undaunted spirit of citizens and the dynamism of HCMC-based enterprises. To overcome difficulties and challenges posed by the pandemic, people and enterprises in HCMC have been more proactive, adaptive, and flexible in response to all situations to restore production and business activities. Along with the inner strength of HCMC, there is also an important motivation from the Central Government with timely and accurate policies, creating a corridor and favorable conditions for the whole country, as well as HCMC, to prevent the pandemic and recover the economy.
These initial sweet fruits are obtained by many good "causes". First of all, it is thanks to the dynamic and creative tradition of HCMC. The great strength comes from the undaunted spirit of citizens and the dynamism of HCMC-based enterprises. To overcome difficulties and challenges posed by the pandemic, people and enterprises in HCMC have been more proactive, adaptive, and flexible in response to all situations to restore production and business activities. Along with the inner strength of HCMC, there is also an important motivation from the Central Government with timely and accurate policies, creating a corridor and favorable conditions for the whole country, as well as HCMC, to prevent the pandemic and recover the economy.
“Especially, the great efforts of the whole political system of HCMC, under the leadership of the HCMC Party Committee, have jointly created the strength of consensus in Covid-19 prevention and socio-economic recovery and development. Thanks to that, even in the harshest times of the pandemic, HCMC still retained many core values and many valuable strengths, which are the foundation for the recovery process. Right after the pandemic was under control, the city has entered the recovery phase with initial positive results as we are witnessing,” said Mr. Phan Van Mai.
Although the socio-economic situation has begun to recover, HCMC also faces many difficulties. Some problems have existed for many years in urban management and development, inadequacies in urban technical and social infrastructure that have not been resolved. The Covid-19 pandemic came, and its impacts have added more difficulties. However, in danger, there are always opportunities. The problem is that we need to recognize, treasure, take advantage of, and bring into play those opportunities. Generally, the economy in HCMC is a part of the national economy, but now the overall economic outlook of Vietnam is quite positive. Regarding the internal potential of HCMC, the production and supply chain have basically recovered, the economic infrastructure and business system are operating well again, and the economic recovery program is taking effect. Three economic institutional bottlenecks related to investment capital absorption, urban transport infrastructure, regional transport connection, and high-quality human resources are being resolved by the Central Government, along with the efforts of HCMC, opening up many prospects.
Currently, HCMC focuses on economic development toward increasing the proportion of goods and services with high value-added content, aiming at sustainable development. The city also strives to turn challenges into opportunities to develop the digital economy rapidly, complete urban technical and social infrastructure, and create breakthroughs in the construction of administration that serves and generates development. With its role, HCMC always pays attention to regional economic linkages and urban development; promotes its role as the driving force for economic growth of the Southern region and the whole country. These are the opportunities and also the room and potential for the development of HCMC in the coming time, with the determination to lead the country in digital economy development, creating an important driving force for rapid and sustainable socio-economic development for HCMC.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused a huge compression as many production and business activities had to stop. In contrast, the city can also have a proportional or even stronger rebound to recoup what was lost. The economic results in the first months of 2022 are showing that more clearly. Many opportunities are opening up for HCMC, and the city persists in implementing the socio-economic goals for the whole five years. In which, the city strives for a growth of 6-6.5 percent in 2022. In the three years from 2023 to 2025, it will accelerate development to complete the goals by 2025.
For a long time, when talking about the management mechanism of a megacity like HCMC according to general regulations, the image of a "tight shirt" on a large body is often used. Up to now, although HCMC is still considered the economic locomotive of the country, frankly, economic development has not really matched the role, position, potential, and opportunities of the city. HCMC's economic growth even tends to slow down, without many breakthroughs in the context that other localities have accelerated, grown rapidly, and narrowed the gap with HCMC. For a large city like HCMC, the inadequacies of hierarchy and decentralization in comparison with the reality of special urban development and the low budget allocation for HCMC are two problems that have caused the city to have not developed as its potential.
This year, HCMC will summarize ten years of implementing Resolution No.16 of the Politburo and five years of implementing Resolution No.54 of the National Assembly. This is also an opportunity for the city to propose the Central Government continue to perfect mechanisms and policies to maximize the development resources of HCMC, and consolidate its position as the economic locomotive in the South and the country in the current context. HCMC has an area of more than 2,000 square kilometers and a population of more than 10 million people. According to Mr. Phan Van Mai, improving governance capacity for a "megacity" in the era of the fourth industrial revolution not only relies on institutional reform but also has to take advantage of technology factors to speed up the process of digital transformation. Globally, the smart city is the management trend in cities with over 10 million people. Therefore, HCMC determines digital transformation, aiming at a smart city, thereby helping the government administrate well, helping people easily interact directly with the government. Currently, HCMC has been focusing on building a digital government, providing online public services, and developing the digital economy; focusing on interconnection, big data connection in the whole city, and developing a shared database.
For HCMC, the private sector has great importance, accounting for about 33 percent of the number of enterprises operating under the Law on Enterprises; accounting for more than 10 percent of the number of individual business households in the country. The private sector contributes about 55 percent of GRDP and is a sector that actually creates value and contributes to the budget. In the field of investment, for every VND1 of public investment capital of the State budget in HCMC, VND8-VND10 of private investment capital will be mobilized.
Therefore, HCMC always focuses on accompanying, creating a favorable environment, and reforming administration so that enterprises can develop and expand production and business activities. The spirit of officials, civil servants, and public servants is to serve and create the most favorable conditions for enterprises. Any action that causes difficulties for enterprises means to hinder the development of the city. HCMC also sincerely invites investors to come to the city to look for opportunities for production and business activities. Working groups of the People's Committee of HCMC regularly coordinate with associations to promptly remove difficulties and problems and accompany businesses. The HCMC Government focuses on increasing interaction, expanding dialogues, listening to the feedback of enterprises on problems in production and business activities, as well as contributing suggestions and solutions to build and develop the city. In 2022, the city will focus on economic recovery, creating momentum to accelerate development in 2023 and the following years, in which businesses will be the center of economic growth. HCMC determines that once enterprises are healthy, the city will surely develop robustly.
