On January 20, at the Conference to summarize the work in 2025 and deploy key tasks for 2026 of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association (HUBA), Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa - Chairman of HUBA said that the merger of administrative units from 63 to 34 provinces and cities, in which Ho Chi Minh City merged with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, has opened up a vast development space with many new opportunities. However, this process also poses many challenges, especially the requirement to soon consolidate the apparatus, complete the coordination mechanism and synchronize policies between localities in the past.
Mr. Hoa said that the context in 2026 becomes even more special when coinciding with the period when the country shaped a new development strategy after the 14th National Party Congress. Many important resolutions were issued such as Resolution 68 on the private economy, Resolution 79 on the state economy and policies to promote public investment, public-private partnership have shown that the State increasingly values the role of the business community, especially the private sector, and is ready to listen to and absorb proposals for large projects with national influence.
In that context, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa emphasized that HUBA needs to seriously review its activities in 2025, proactively fully identify the changes in the socio-economic environment in 2026, and at the same time quickly consolidate the organization and complete the apparatus after merging the three localities. The goal is to build an Association with a larger scale, more diverse industries, capable of accompanying businesses and making practical contributions to the overall development of the city and the country.
In a petition sent to Ho Chi Minh City leaders, HUBA emphasized the requirement to continue to improve institutions, ensure the unity and stability of the state management apparatus after deploying the two-level government model and expanding administrative boundaries. According to the Association, a clear and synchronous legal corridor is a prerequisite for businesses to feel secure in long-term investment, especially when the city enters a new development cycle with large scale and high level of competition.
HUBA proposes to focus on reviewing and completely removing obstacles related to taxes, land, investment, environment, and labor; and at the same time clearly identify the focal agency for resolving dossiers to ensure smooth procedures, without disrupting production and business activities. At the same time, administrative procedure reform continues to be a content of particular concern to the business community. HUBA proposes to simplify procedures, shorten dossier processing time and promote procedure resolution in the digital environment, thereby reducing compliance costs and improving service quality.
The Association also proposed maintaining and improving the effectiveness of dialogue between the government and businesses; promoting the role of business representative organizations in policy criticism and supporting grassroots businesses. HUBA wishes to continue to receive the city's attention to consolidate its organization, innovate operating methods, as well as effectively implement trade promotion, digital transformation, green transformation, business training and human resource development programs.
From the management agency, Mr. Le Huynh Minh Tu - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, said that 2025 is a particularly meaningful year when the city completed the development plan for the 2021-2025 period with GRDP growth of over 8%, in which there is an important contribution from more than 500,000 businesses, the core of which are HUBA members.
Stepping into 2026, he expressed his agreement with the motto "dynamic, creative, innovative, quick adaptation" and affirmed that the Department of Industry and Trade will continue to accompany HUBA in its role as a policy bridge, promoting green transformation, digital transformation, building a business ecosystem and coordinating administrative reform, contributing to creating an increasingly favorable investment environment for the business community.
