City shows signs of economic recovery, retail sales up over 10%

Foreign tourists take photo in front of the Independence Palace in HCM City. The city’s tourism revenue increased by 65.8 per cent in the first eight months. —VNS Bồ Xuân Hiệp

HCM CITY — HCM City has shown signs of economic recovery with a 10.3 per cent year-on-year increase in total retail sales and service revenue in the first eight months of 2024, including a 65.8 per cent surge in tourism revenue.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, Lê Thị Huỳnh Mai, director of the city’s Department of Planning and Investment, said: “This resurgence shows the city’s resilience and adaptability in the face of various challenges.”

The city’s industrial production index (IPI) was also up 6.4 per cent year-on-year.

As of July 20, the city had approved 710 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, collectively valued at over $255 million, up 10.6 per cent year-on-year.

Total state budget revenue is projected to exceed VNĐ344.8 trillion, accounting for 71.4 per cent of the targeted amount and an increase of 15.3 per cent year-on-year.

Over 45,700 new businesses have entered the market in the period, up 8.8 per cent, while more than 26,700 businesses have exited, up 7.4 per cent.

The construction of the first metro line (Bến Thành – Suối Tiên) is now over 98 per cent complete, with official operations anticipated to commence by the end of the year.

However, challenges persist.

Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of the Municipal People’s Committee, emphasised that public spending in the city is progressing too slowly.

He urged relevant agencies to maintain oversight of progress of key projects, identify challenges, and address them in a timely manner.

As of August 23, the disbursement rate of public investment capital was too low, amounting to VNĐ13.9 trillion, only 17.6 per cent of the planned allocation and a decline of 30.4 per cent year-on-year.

Mai, the director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said the city has formulated a public investment plan for this year totaling over VNĐ79 trillion ($3.12 billion), which is 1.5 times higher than the previous year and the highest in the city’s history.

A detailed disbursement plan has been developed for each month and quarter, with a target of achieving 95 per cent disbursement by the conclusion of 2024.

Tasks for rest of 2024  

Experts said that to attain this year’s economic growth target of 7.5 to 8 per cent, the city must proactively address obstacles related to public investment disbursement.

Other challenges, such as bureaucratic impediments, land clearance issues, and delays in project execution, must also be resolved to meet this growth objective, they added.

The city must also focus on solutions that facilitate significant advancements in public investment disbursement, prioritising key public investment projects.

In terms of attracting foreign investment, the city should focus on mitigating barriers to investment expansion projects to enable the swift flow of capital into productive activities.

In addition, the management boards of industrial parks and export processing zones are expected to promptly develop plans for the implementation of large-scale investment projects.

Mãi has instructed the Department of Planning and Investment to continue to organise additional investment promotion conferences.

The Department of Construction is tasked with addressing challenges faced by real estate projects and closely monitoring the progress of social housing initiatives.

The Department of Industry and Trade will continue to implement consumer stimulation programmes, coordinating with the HCM Business Association to support credit for import and export activities.

The Department of Tourism has been called upon to stimulate demand through a variety of offerings to attract tourists for the rest of the year. — VNS