Consolidating growth momentum
Ho Chi Minh City is entering a period of needing a breakthrough to maintain its role as the economic locomotive of the country.
According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, although the city still shows strong economic recovery capacity after the pandemic, the recent growth rate has slowed down compared to the national average. This reality shows that Ho Chi Minh City may face many challenges in maintaining its leading position, as other localities are gradually catching up with the development speed.
To improve the situation, the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City proposed focusing on a series of key tasks. First of all, it is necessary to exploit new growth drivers, in order to create momentum for sustainable development.
In addition, the city will expand the scale and scope of implementing key programs such as market stabilization, centralized promotions, building Ho Chi Minh City into a major service center of the country and developing a system of international exhibition center exhibition centers.
Ho Chi Minh City also focuses on supporting the development of key industries, supporting industries, as well as investing in infrastructure and perfecting the supply chain from input to output to serve the industry.
In the field of food - food, Ms. Ly Kim Chi - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Food - Food Association said that many businesses in the industry have proactively applied modern technology such as QR codes, blockchain to trace the origin of products, meeting the increasingly high requirements of the market and consumers.
However, reality shows that there are still many businesses that have to depend on imported raw materials, including China. This shows that, in addition to technological innovation and market expansion, improving autonomy in raw materials is also a problem that needs to be solved to ensure sustainable development for the food industry in particular and the Ho Chi Minh City industry in general.
Resetting the strategic problem
Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies assessed that Ho Chi Minh City's growth in 2025 is very unpredictable due to a series of uncertain factors from geopolitical conflicts to monetary policy and global trade.
The information about the tariff negotiations between Vietnam and the US shows more positive signs, but more detailed and specific information is needed for assessment.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc also noted the risks from new US policies related to trade tariffs. The Chairman of the City People's Committee requested departments and experts to assess the impact of this policy on the GDP targets for the third quarter, fourth quarter and the whole year of 2025, ensuring the growth rate of 8-8.5% as assigned by the Government.
Mr. Nguyen Van Duoc also emphasized the need to review, adjust and agree on the planning after the merger. Previously, the three old localities all had plans before the merger, but all from the individual, narrow perspective of each locality.
After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City needs to rebuild the general planning with a comprehensive approach, making the most of the potential of each area and coordinating development functions. Ho Chi Minh City is in a new mindset, has new room and needs a new strategic vision. The reassignment will help limit the overlapping and internal competition as before, while paving the way for synchronous and sustainable development.
