The event, titled “Development Space of Ho Chi Minh City – Driving Force from Supply Chain and Retail Development”, took place in Vung Tau Ward, Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of July 11.
Attending the event were Member of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Dung, Member of the HCMC Party Committee and Head of the Economic and Budget Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council Nguyen Cong Danh along with specialists, scholars, and business representatives.
In his remarks at the session, Director of the Municipal Department of Industry and Trade Bui Ta Hoang Vu informed that the city is entering a new phase of development with both opportunities and challenges.
The move toward broader development space and a multi-centered urban structure represents more than a bureaucratic shift and offers a key opportunity to enhance the city’s economic role in Southeast Asia.
To realize this goal, city leaders have proactively renewed the growth model, positioning Ho Chi Minh City as a regional hub for finance, manufacturing, trade, logistics and innovation, with a consistent aim of fostering modern, sustainable economic development deeply integrated into global value chains.
In reality, Ho Chi Minh City has served as an economic driver, accounting for over 20 percent of the nation's total retail sales and making significant contributions to the Southern Key Economic Region.
However, the commerce and services sector still faces several bottlenecks such as unsynchronized development of commercial infrastructure across areas; lack of connectivity between supply chain and distribution system, unadaptation to market fluctuations, slow digital transformation; rapid growth of e-commerce but lack of real connections with traditional logistics, manufacturing and distribution systems.
In response to these issues, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade in collaboration with Tuoi Tre Newspaper, experts, scholars, industry associations, businesses and relevant agencies organized a multi-dimensional discussion between city leaders, experts and the business community.
The forum aimed to identify key bottlenecks, challenges and new development opportunities for the city, thereby redefining the commercial and service space, and establishing a strategic mindset for developing supply and retail chains.
Besides, it will contribute to laying a solid foundation for formulating practical, effective policies for the trade and service sector ensuring alignment with reality while supporting rapid, sustainable and deeply integrated growth.
