Diversifying trade partners
In the context of globalization and the trend of supply chain shifting opening up many opportunities for developing economies, finding new markets and expanding international cooperation is more necessary than ever.
As the leading dynamic economic center of the country, Ho Chi Minh City not only leads growth but is also a pioneer in trade connections and attracting international investment.
One of the potential areas that Ho Chi Minh City is aiming for is South America - where the total GDP is about 4,000 billion USD and the population is over 431 million people. In particular, Chile is considered a strategic gateway to help Vietnamese goods penetrate deeper into the market in this region.
Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center Ho Thi Quyen said that in the process of extensive integration, expanding the market, diversifying partners and attracting investment is a key task. As an economic locomotive, accounting for a large proportion of the country's export turnover, Ho Chi Minh City has always proactively sought new cooperation opportunities, especially in the South American region. In Chile, there is still much room for the city's enterprises to exploit, from export, investment in processing - manufacturing to technology transfer and sustainable development.
Another potential "backbone" market segment is the Halal market, with an estimated global scale of up to 3,000 billion USD. According to Ms. Ly Kim Chi - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Food and Food Association, many businesses are currently actively developing Halal products to access the Islamic markets in the Middle East and South Asia.
Ms. Ly Kim Chi commented: This is a market with a fast growth rate and large scale, so businesses need to take advantage of the current opportunities to penetrate. Although there have been businesses participating, the scale is not significant. Therefore, businesses are currently being trained to meet Halal standards and certifications, thereby improving competitiveness and expanding export markets".
Promoting the domestic market
To promote the trade - service and retail sectors, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc - Chairman of the Vietnam Retailers Association - emphasized that the prerequisite is to rebuild consumer confidence through job creation policies, increase income, and at the same time, it is necessary to increase financial support for businesses such as capital allocation, tax reduction to improve financial capacity and competitiveness.
Along with that, promoting investment in new technology, promoting digital transformation is an inevitable direction to modernize trade infrastructure. A fundamental solution is to restructure the entire supply chain and value chain of the domestic distribution industry. This is an important factor to expand development space for the retail industry in the new context.
In fact, Ho Chi Minh City and related departments and branches have synchronously implemented many solutions, bringing clear results in stimulating consumption and improving purchasing power. According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, the market is recording many signs of improvement, thanks to the effective coordination between the government and businesses in implementing consumer support programs.
Since the beginning of 2025, businesses in the trade - service sector have proactively promoted digital transformation, expanded business on e-commerce platforms, and improved transportation services to enhance customer experience.
Notably, the program " mobility sales - Market stabilization" organized by the Department of Industry and Trade in coordination with the People's Committees of districts, towns and enterprises has brought consumers many attractive incentives such as discounts, buying 1 get 1 free, goods at the same price.
At the same time, the city also cooperates with e-commerce platforms and businesses to participate in stabilizing the market to provide promotional codes and incentives exclusively for union members and workers when shopping online.
