The above issue was raised by Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies at the regular socio-economic meeting in April, held on May 8.
According to Mr. Truong Minh Huy Vu, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council has passed a resolution approving the policy of merging Ho Chi Minh City with localities in the key economic region of the South such as Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.
Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu assessed this as an " Opportunity for the future" and the city needs to start preparing right now, by building a strategy and planning in May and June to anticipate the wave of investment and business in the new period.
Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu also proposed that Ho Chi Minh City should take the lead in developing strong programs and initiatives to develop the private economy. This is a lever to promote Ho Chi Minh City's economic development in the coming period.
According to Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance Le Thi Huynh Mai, in the first 4 months of 2025, the total registered capital of newly established and additional enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City reached VND 229,394 billion, an increase of 1.7% over the same period.
Although the number of enterprises has decreased, additional capital has increased sharply by 73.8%, showing the trend of restructuring and investing in depth in the private sector.
According to Ms. Le Thi Huynh Mai, Ho Chi Minh City continues to implement policies to support private enterprises, especially in the fields of science and technology, digital transformation and innovation. The city is developing a Project "Piloting mechanisms and policies to promote the development of Creative Startup Centers" and promoting the operation of the Technology Exchange.
In addition, Ho Chi Minh City also implements solutions for private economic development, mobilizing development resources according to Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW and Resolution No. 41-NQ/TW, to promote the role of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the new period.
According to Ms. Mai, the clear bright spot of Ho Chi Minh City's economy in April was the total budget revenue of more than VND202,000 billion, domestic revenue of VND160,976 billion, the rest was revenue from import-export activities reaching VND41,214 billion.
Ms. Mai commented that this growth rate reflects the remarkable recovery of the city's industry after global fluctuations.
However, according to Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu, the increase in industry needs to be viewed with caution.
Mr. Vu explained that the export increase in April was largely due to the "time" factor when the US temporarily postponed the imposition of tariffs within 90 days, causing businesses to take advantage of boosting exports to this market.
We cannot use April data to conclude that industry has recovered sustainably, Dr. Vu emphasized.
In addition, import activities show signs of stagnation in many markets, especially China, due to new orders not yet expanding, along with the impact of market restructuring and exchange rate fluctuations between USD and yuan under the pressure of competition between the US and China.
Along with budget revenue, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue is estimated at VND 128,886 billion, up 37.6% over the same period.
According to Mr. Truong Minh Huy Vu, the successful organization of the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South, National Reunification Day and the United Nations Propaganda Festival (Vesak) 2025 has attracted a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to Ho Chi Minh City.
Major events are not only organized safely and on a large scale but also effectively linked with trade, culture and consumer stimulus programs. This is a "launching pad" for city services in the short and medium term.
From the above practice, Mr. Vu suggested that the city should quickly upgrade its service, cultural and tourism infrastructure - both in terms of facilities and human resources - to better meet the need to welcome a large number of visitors at the same time in the future.
