The figures were presented at a meeting on August 12, chaired by Mr. Nguyen Van Duoc, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, to review the city's socio-economic performance in July and the first seven months and set priorities for August.
Addressing the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Van Duoc said the city's economy had shown encouraging signs but warned that achieving double-digit growth would remain a formidable challenge. He called for concerted measures to accelerate growth, particularly by speeding up public investment, site clearance, and private-sector investment, while ensuring preparations for the new academic year and free health checkups for residents.
According to Mr. Hoang Vu Thanh, Director of the municipal Department of Finance, the city's retail sales and consumer service revenue exceeded VND1.1 quadrillion ($41.7 billion), up 13.3 percent year on year. Tourism revenue reached VND247.4 trillion, and industrial production expanded 10.7 percent.
The city recorded 34,096 newly established businesses, an increase of nearly 23 percent from the same period last year. Foreign investment surpassed $9.8 billion, up nearly 45 percent. The science and technology sector alone attracted 467 projects with combined registered capital of nearly $558 million.
State budget revenue reached VND575.463 trillion, equivalent to 71.6 percent of the annual estimate. By the end of July, public investment disbursement stood at about VND63.775 trillion, or 43.2 percent of the year's plan, outpacing the national average.
The city is also stepping up preparations for the 2026-27 school year through a 150-day campaign to complete 1,000 classrooms. Meanwhile, more than 1.37 million residents had undergone periodic health checkups and been issued electronic health records by the end of July.
Despite the positive momentum, officials acknowledged significant challenges, including pressure to meet the 2026 growth and budget revenue targets, a high number of businesses shutting down or suspending operations, and a heavy administrative workload at the grassroots level.
Ho Chi Minh City has nevertheless retained its targets of achieving GRDP growth of more than 10 percent, collecting about VND1 quadrillion in State revenue, mobilizing more than VND1.2 quadrillion in development investment and attracting over $11 billion in foreign direct investment this year.
To meet those goals, the city plans to tackle bottlenecks involving land, planning, site clearance, construction materials, and investment procedures. It will also tighten public investment disbursement discipline by introducing performance indicators and "yellow card" and "red card" measures for agencies that fall behind schedule.
The city will prioritize resources for strategic infrastructure, transport, digital transformation, science and technology, education, healthcare, and environmental projects, while pursuing new initiatives to generate fresh drivers of economic growth.
