On October 31, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee held a meeting to review the city’s socio-economic performance for October and the first ten months of 2025 and to outline key tasks and solutions for the remaining months of the year.
Speaking at the meeting, Nguyen Khac Hoang, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office, noted that despite several positive indicators, the city’s export performance and public investment disbursement remain relatively low.
To achieve the annual GRDP growth target of 8.5 percent, the city will need to reach a growth rate of 12.4 percent in the fourth quarter, a significant challenge. He therefore recommended that the city continue to stimulate domestic consumption and strengthen promotional programs. In addition, he emphasized the need for a concrete plan to accelerate public investment disbursement.
Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance Hoang Vu Thanh reported that by the end of October, the city had disbursed 53.6 percent of its public investment capital. In the remaining months of the year, more than VND55 trillion, equivalent to over 46 percent of the annual plan, must be disbursed. The city will prioritize accelerating land clearance, particularly for major projects, and continue to fast-track new investment initiatives. Three dedicated task forces will be mobilized to further promote public investment disbursement.
Meanwhile, leaders from the Department of Agriculture and Environment affirmed that these task forces will focus on addressing bottlenecks on-site, following the principle of “resolving issues where they arise,” with the goal of settling long-standing obstacles within 2025.
Concluding the meeting, Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tho stated that the city’s economy and society maintained positive growth momentum in October and the first ten months of 2025. Compared with the same period in 2024, total retail sales and service revenue are estimated to have risen by 15 percent, the industrial production index by 7.5 percent, and budget revenue reached an estimated VND652.51 trillion, achieving 97.2 percent of the central government’s target and up 15.5 percent. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is projected to reach US$7.23 billion, an increase of 28.67 percent.
Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tho emphasized that the workload from now until the end of the year remains substantial. He urged heads of departments, agencies, and localities to uphold a strong sense of responsibility, solidarity, and unity and to work together to implement all assigned tasks comprehensively, effectively, and in a coordinated manner.
He also called for continued efforts to refine and stabilize the organizational apparatus, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of state management. Local authorities are required to swiftly address bottlenecks to ensure smooth and stable two-tier governance, complete the consolidation and personnel arrangements at the commune level, and streamline internal structures within certain agencies and units. Administrative reform should be accelerated, along with the completion of digital infrastructure investments and procurement at the city’s and local public service centers.
The city's Vice Chairman further directed the implementation of strong measures to stimulate growth and strive to meet or exceed all socio-economic targets set for the year. Key priorities include expediting public investment disbursement to reach 100 percent of the allocated capital plan, accelerating all stages of the investment process from project preparation and appraisal to approval and payment, and resolving obstacles in land clearance and compensation, particularly for major and high-value projects.
