Speaking at the conference, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh City Le Thi Huynh Mai said that even though there were difficulties and obstacles in 2023, Ho Chi Minh City has found bottlenecks and proposed solutions to improve the socio-economic situation for each month and three- month period.
As for the economic growth in 2023, Ho Chi Minh City gained its growth of 5.81 percent, ranking second among the five centrally-run cities and taking the lead in the Southern key economic zone.
Regarding public investment disbursement, HCMC has doubled the disbursement rate over 2022. Besides, the private investment sector has also shown positive signs with over 50,000 private companies operating in the city.
The city sets a target for economic growth from 7.5 percent to eight percent this year.
In order to reach the set target, the Director of the Municipal Department of Planning and Investment said that public investment acceleration, capital attraction, and private sector and foreign investment support would be vital responsibilities in need of focusing on more and more. Thereby, the Department of Planning and Investment will make proposals to continue to thoroughly grasp and drastically enhance the capacities and responsibilities of investors, the heads of the people’s committees of localities as well as promote the roles of working teams.
In addition, it is important to closely focus on public investment disbursement with periodic monitoring and urge the disbursement to evaluate the process of each unit in order to attach the disbursement results with the performance evaluation of the units and the heads; push up site clearance and shorten at least 30 percent of the project implementation process from its beginning until completion.
Director of the Municipal Department of Information and Communications Lam Dinh Thang said that the city has gained important steps in digital transformation in 2023, contributing to the city's development and creating a premise to speed up in the next years.
The city has issued a data management strategy and strengthened the reconstruction and digitalization of the professional processes and operation of the authorities’ system on digital platforms.
In general, the digital transformation of Ho Chi Minh City is now ranked second in the whole country. The year 2023 is the third year that HCMC lifted its position in digital transformation. The public services of Ho Chi Minh City were ranked fourth out of 63 provinces and cities with A level.
In order to well implement the plans for 2024, the Director of the HCMC Department of Information and Communications stressed that it is essential to focus on solutions to build a wide and strong digital infrastructure comprising wideband telecommunications infrastructure, database center infrastructure and cloud computing, digital technology infrastructure. Besides, Ho Chi Minh City is recommended to accelerate e-government, promote e-economy, push up e-society and digital citizen development and ensure information safety.
According to Director of the Department of Industry and Trade Bui Ta Hoang Vu, in 2024, the department will continue to collaborate with relevant units in the development of the technology, green transformation and implementation of the connectivity activities between banks and enterprises and promoting current orders.
Besides, the department shall promote domestic market consumption and boost activities to prepare for promotion programs in niche markets and discount programs. Especially, the department will continue to perform investment to develop logistics activities and promote the market stabilization program to ensure social welfare. Of which, the Department of Industry and Trade has identified its mission for implementation in 2024.
Dr. Tran Du Lich, Chairman of the Advisory Council for implementing the National Assembly's Resolution 98 said that the set target of growth in 2024 would be difficult and face challenges. The city needs to impose regulation systems for authorized, decentralized works and tasks to remove difficulties and obstacles, notably in public investment.
On the other hand, Ho Chi Minh should soon propose to the Government to promptly remove its obstacles. With a huge resource, comprising public enterprises, the city could let the number of public enterprises together with HCMC Finance and Investment State Owned Company (HFIC) lead investment activities.
Chairman of HCMC Business Association Nguyen Ngoc Hoa proposed that HCMC needs to focus on three key matters, comprising freeing up current resources, concern about foreign investment via new markets, niche markets and green transformation. Besides, it is necessary to impose solutions to stimulate domestic demand and increase capital absorption capacity.
With the evaluation of public investment as a key role for the economy, Chairman of the HCMC Business Association Nguyen Ngoc Hoa proposed to push up public investment projects, create favorable conditions for enterprises to join in tendering and get loans, and take advantage of capital sources to from other countries.
In order to reach the set targets, Mr. Hoa said that Ho Chi Minh City had to switch industrial zones and high-tech parks and soon issue the land prices at the new industrial parks.
Concerning activities of caring for needy residents on the Lunar New Year of 2024, Director of the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Van Thinh said that the city allocated more than VND1,102 billion (US$45 million) for Tet care activities. Of which, the city budget will spend VND915 billion (US$37.6 million) on taking care of people with meritorious services, retired officials, the elderly and children with difficult circumstances and so on.
Additionally, agencies and unions have raised funds to take care of 3,089 needy people with a total amount of more than VND187 billion (US$7.7 million) on the Tet holiday with the focus on children and the elderly with difficult circumstances.
