Chairing and speaking at a socio-economic working session for January on February 4, Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc urged leaders of the city departments, agencies and sectors to accelerate GRDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product) growth and ensure Lunar New Year preparations for residents.
Mr. Nguyen Khac Hoang, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office, said that development indicators for January showed many positive signs. Notably, the manufacturing and processing sector recorded growth of up to 34.5 percent, exceeding the overall average of industrial production, which demonstrates strong operational capacity, adaptability, and production performance during the Tet period. The trade and service sector was also a bright spot. According to city statistics, the number of newly registered businesses and FDI projects rose in January, reflecting strong confidence among both domestic and foreign investors.
To achieve a growth rate of over 10 percent in 2026, he stated that the city must accelerate public investment disbursement from the beginning of the year. The early operation of projects is expected to generate additional growth capacity in subsequent quarters. Priority sectors, including agriculture, industry and construction, are projected to grow at around 10 percent, while trade and services are expected to expand by about 11.5 percent.
The city’s Statistics Office has developed growth scenarios and will submit them to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee. To strengthen consumption- and export-driven growth, the office said that institutional frameworks and regulations need to be reviewed and enhanced to match the city’s expanded scale.
Meanwhile, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Toan Thang said that as of the end of January, total land-related revenue reached VND6,624 billion (US$255 million), accounting for 6.3 percent of total budget revenue and rising 2 percent year-on-year. To generate revenue, remove bottlenecks for projects and issue land-use certificates to residents, the municipal Department of Finance and the Department of Agriculture and Environment have identified a list of 61 projects requiring land price determination in 2026 since the beginning of the year.
Land-related revenue is targeted at VND62 trillion (US$2.4 million) this year, with collections set to be completed by the third quarter to prepare funding for 2027.
Regarding compensation disbursement, Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang said that 164 projects are currently being implemented, with total compensation funding exceeding VND32 trillion (US$1.2 billion). By the end of January, more than VND7,800 billion (US$301 million) had been disbursed, including nearly VND7,700 billion (US$270 million) in Ho Chi Minh City, VND146 billion (US$5.6 million) in Binh Duong, and over VND26 billion (US$1 million) in Ba Ria–Vung Tau. Amid disparities in disbursement among localities, he called for tighter inter-agency coordination in 2026.
To support the economy, a representative of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Region 2 said that credit growth in Ho Chi Minh City in 2026 is expected to rise by 15 percent compared with 2025. In 2025, outstanding credit reached VND5.2 quadrillion (nearly US$200 billion), up 16.25 percent from 2024. The bank–business connectivity program recorded total disbursements of VND881 trillion (US$33.9 billion).
In his remarks at the working session, Mr. Vo Hoang Ngan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture, said that to promote public investment, the department has stepped up decentralization and delegation of authority to wards, communes and special administrative zones in order to shorten procedures and timelines for planning adjustments; thereby helping accelerate the disbursement of public investment capital.
According to Mr. Bui Minh Tri, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza), said that to contribute to the city’s double-digit growth target in 2026, Hepza is making efforts to bring four additional industrial parks into operation. Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has 66 licensed industrial parks, but only 59 are operational. Hepza will also actively promote the development of a free trade zone (FTZ), as previously proposed to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.
Regarding goods supply for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Bui Ta Hoang Vu said that in the period before Tet, the volume of goods increases by two to three times compared to normal days. Purchasing demand is forecast to peak from the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month (February 10) to the 29th day of the first lunar month (February 16), focusing mainly on fresh food and fast-moving consumer goods.
The Lunar New Year 2026 market is seeing a strong shift from purely goods-based shopping toward spending on experiences and services.
The total value of goods prepared for the two-month Tet period is estimated at around VND26 trillion (US$999 million). Of this amount, subsidized goods account for more than VND9 trillion (US$346 million), meeting 23 percent to 43 percent of market demand. During the peak pre-Tet period, wholesale markets increase supply by 70 percent to 80 percent, reaching 12,000 to 13,000 tons per day.
To ensure food safety during the Lunar New Year holiday, Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, said that inspection and supervision efforts will be intensified. The department has established 31 inspection teams to check 1,320 establishments. At the same time, surprise inspections will be carried out based on information from the media, including checks of wedding banquet restaurants and companies providing school meal services for students.
