He made the statement while focusing on growth above 10 percent, public investment disbursement and implementation of the Urban Development Law at the municipal People’s Committee's meeting on the morning of Sept. 4 to review the city’s socio-economic performance in August and the first eight months of 2026, as well as key tasks and solutions for September.
The meeting was chaired by Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc, along with Vice Chairmen Nguyen Manh Cuong and Hoang Nguyen Dinh.
HCMC prepares 168 documents to implement Urban Development Law
Opening the meeting, HCMC People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc stressed that in the final months of the year, the city is entering a sprint period with many demanding tasks related to socio-economic development, public investment disbursement, budget collection, administrative reform and, particularly, implementation of the Urban Development Law.
Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc called on departments, agencies and localities not to become complacent or rest on their laurels. While the results achieved are highly commendable, areas that have not met targets or requirements must receive greater and more determined efforts.
Highlighting issues for discussion, the city People’s Committee chairman said implementing the Urban Development Law is a particularly important and urgent task.
The city must prepare 168 legal documents to specify and organize implementation of the law. This represents a very large workload, while the implementation period is short, requiring each department and agency to maintain a high level of focus and ensure both progress and quality, without allowing legal gaps to emerge when the law takes effect.
Meanwhile, the target of growth above 10 percent is a major challenge. Results from the first two quarters show that growth in the third quarter must exceed 11 percent amid continued difficulties. He called for a clear identification of solutions to achieve this target. This includes providing specific reports on investment, existing bottlenecks and measures to address them in order to unlock social resources.
Regarding budget revenue, the HCMC People’s Committee chairman said the target of collecting more than VND1 quadrillion is achievable and could be exceeded, but this should not lead to complacency. The city must continue to focus on and step up measures to ensure accurate and full collection, nurture revenue sources and create resources for development investment, particularly as HCMC has many major works and projects to implement in the coming period.
He also called for tighter discipline and order and greater accountability in public service. In recent times, many departments, agencies and localities have made clear improvements in serving residents and businesses and carrying out assigned tasks. However, progress in some places remains limited and uneven. He called for shortcomings to be addressed immediately, administrative reform to be accelerated, processing times for dossiers to be shortened, and the quality of services provided to residents and businesses to be improved. Eligible dossiers submitted before 3 p.m. must be processed the same day.
Public investment disbursement improves
At the meeting, Director Hoang Vu Thanh of the Department of Finance said the city’s economy maintained positive growth in the first eight months of 2026, basically following the set scenario, with many indicators posting solid increases.
Total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue exceeded VND1.3 quadrillion, up 13.7 percent. Tourism revenue surged nearly 49 percent. International arrivals reached 7.77 million, up 38.5 percent, while domestic tourists totaled 35.49 million, reaching 71 percent of the annual target.
Import-export activities maintained stable growth, with exports reaching US$65.83 billion, up 7.82 percent, and imports reaching US$72.69 billion, up 11.86 percent. The Industrial Production Index (IIP) rose 10.8 percent. Processing and manufacturing industries continued to play a leading role, increasing 10.8 percent, higher than the overall industrial growth rate, while mining grew 12.9 percent.
The city has focused on resolving 921 stalled and long-delayed projects. To date, difficulties and obstacles have been addressed for 216 projects; 461 projects have received directions for resolution, while 244 projects are still being handled within the relevant authorities’ jurisdiction.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) reached more than US$10.06 billion, up 167.3 percent year on year. Of this, 467 projects in the science and technology sector attracted registered capital of more than US$599.3 million.
State budget revenue reached VND624.757 trillion, equivalent to 77.6 percent of the estimate and up 19.2 percent year on year, reaching 62.4 percent of the target of VND1 quadrillion.
Public investment disbursement showed significant improvement. By the end of August, the city had disbursed about VND85.141 trillion, equivalent to 57.7 percent of the plan.
