The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee today convened a regular meeting to discuss the socio-economic conditions for October and the first ten months of 2024, as well as to outline key tasks for the remaining months of the year. The meeting was co-chaired by Vice Chairmen of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung and Bui Xuan Cuong.
In the meeting, Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Dung highlighted the imperative of addressing critical challenges to attain Ho Chi Minh City's ambitious GRDP growth target of 7-7.5 percent. A primary focus of the discussion was the slow pace of public investment disbursement. To expedite this process, Vice Chairman Dung urged meeting participants to pay significant attention to identification and implementation of innovative solutions.
Furthermore, he emphasized the crucial role of the recently issued 60-day emulation plan in accelerating public investment disbursement and achieving the City's overarching development objectives.
Deputy Director Pham Trung Kien of the Department of Planning and Investment reported that Ho Chi Minh City's People's Committee has successfully implemented strategies to stimulate growth in various industries and sectors. This has resulted in a significant recovery and sustained positive momentum in the industrial production index (IIP).
In the first 10 months of 2024, the IIP is estimated to have increased by 8.9 percent year-over-year, with a total increase of 6.9 percent. Furthermore, the index of production of 4 key industries has experienced a notable 4.7 percent growth during the same period.
Ho Chi Minh City has continued to enhance consumer demand across shopping channels while effectively executing the market stabilization program, thereby maintaining a balance between the supply and demand of goods. The total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue for October were projected to reach VND109,467 billion, reflecting a 9.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Cumulatively, the revenue for the first ten months is estimated at VND979,052 billion, representing a 10.1 percent rise over the previous year.
Additionally, total tourism revenue for October is anticipated to be VND16,251 billion, marking an 11.4 percent increase year-on-year, with the cumulative revenue for the ten-month period estimated at VND156,649 billion, which is an 11.9 percent increase compared to the same timeframe in 2023.
Ho Chi Minh City's exports are on the rise, with October's figure hitting US$4.304 billion, a 2.7 percent increase from September. The city's 10-month export total stands at $38.55 billion, a 10.5 percent year-over-year jump.
Imports also grew, reaching $5.602 billion in October, a 4.2 percent increase month-over-month. The 10-month import total is $49.56 billion, up 8.9 percent year-over-year.
Despite these positive trade figures, the city's business environment is facing headwinds. Moreover, while the number of enterprises entering the market increased by 2.4 percent, the number of enterprises exiting the market surged by 6.5 percent.
According to Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Hoa of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association, a positive sign is that businesses have stable orders until early 2025. However, the production situation is facing many barriers such as price pressure, goods to be exported must meet green criteria and digital criteria.
Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Hoa said that the manufacturing sector in Ho Chi Minh City is confronting a confluence of challenges, including escalating input costs, increasingly stringent environmental and technological standards, and labor shortages. These obstacles pose a significant burden, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, which are often ill-equipped to navigate the complexities of green and digital transformation.
Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Dung emphasized the urgent need to accelerate public investment disbursement. As of October 31, the city had only managed to disburse approximately 22.2 percent of the allocated public investment capital. To address this issue, he called for a comprehensive review of public investment projects, including a rigorous evaluation of investor performance and a detailed analysis of factors impeding project progress. He requested departments, agencies and localities to focus on accelerating disbursement.
In relation to the labor and employment landscape, Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Dung emphasized that Ho Chi Minh City has consistently been a desirable urban center for both domestic and international business communities. Nevertheless, there has been a decline in the number of newly established enterprises and the amount of registered capital.
He urged the Department of Planning and Investment, along with other relevant departments, to focus on and assess this trend. Specifically, he called for an analysis of the factors contributing to the rise in newly registered enterprises, the decrease in capital, and the exit of businesses from the market in order to develop appropriate solutions.
