Ho Chi Minh City Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc has called on the city's business community to move from “policy feedback” to jointly shaping and implementing policies, strengthen business linkages, and make digital and green transformation core competitive capabilities.
The HCMC Business Association's 2026-2031 Congress was held on August 27, approving the renaming of the HCMC Business Association as the HCMC Business Federation, marking a shift in the scale, representative role and connectivity of the business community. The congress elected a 93-member Executive Committee for the 2026-2031 term. Mr. Mai Huu Tin was elected Chairman of the HCMC Business Federation.
Speaking at the congress, HCMC People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc said businesses are still facing considerable pressure. In the first seven months of the year, around 7,483 businesses completed dissolution procedures, up 158.6 percent; worse, some 31,321 businesses temporarily suspended operations, up 10.5 percent.
Amid persistent headwinds in market access, capital expenses, and fierce competitive pressures, he underscored that neither the public nor private sector can afford any margin for complacency moving forward.
Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc has given the HCMC Business Federation four strategic directives, marking a shift toward deeper integration between the municipal government and the local business community.
First, enterprises must transition from traditional policy feedback to an active role in co-shaping and implementing regulations, ensuring that grassroots production and commercial expertise directly inform institutional development. Furthermore, the leadership emphasized the necessity of strengthening corporate linkages to transform the city's expanded economic landscape into a functional value multiplier.
In addition to structural cooperation, the city urged businesses to adopt digital and green transformation as core competitive drivers rather than secondary initiatives. The directive concludes with a call for the private sector to partner directly with municipal authorities in building a rapidly growing, sustainable, and socially compassionate Ho Chi Minh City.
Accepting the four tasks, Chairman Mai Huu Tin of the HCMC Business Federation said the new Executive Committee would translate them into concrete action.
According to the chairman of the HCMC Business Federation, with nearly 300,000 businesses operating in Ho Chi Minh City, if each business improves productivity, strengthens management, and invests more in technology, people and innovation, the combined impact will not only help individual businesses grow stronger but also enhance the competitiveness of the city's entire economy.
The responsibility of entrepreneurs is measured not only by profits but also by their ability to create jobs, improve workers' living standards, generate more knowledge and productivity, and develop Vietnamese products capable of competing in international markets.
The Executive Committee of the HCMC Business Federation for the 2026-2031 term has identified strengthening connections in the business community, promoting innovation and digital and green transformation, and working alongside the government to achieve the city's development goals as its priorities.
