Transforming economic structure
On September 25, speaking at the seminar "Hanoi's Economy - 70 years for the goal of circular and sustainable development", Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh - former Head of the Department of International Finance - Academy of Finance emphasized that in 1954, Hanoi had a very small area, only about 130km2 with more than 1,000 enterprises and production facilities.
"At that time, Hanoi's GDP per capita was also very low compared to surrounding countries, even lower than many other provinces and cities" - Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh said.
However, with the Government's determination, the first thing Hanoi did was to eliminate illiteracy in 1957, thereby creating a major shift in the workforce as well as enhancing the capital's will for independence and self-reliance.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh, Hanoi's income scale has increased very strongly in the period from 2010 to 2023 with GDP often leading the country with a growth rate of about 7%. It is very important that Hanoi's per capita income in 2023 for the first time exceeded that of Ho Chi Minh City.
Hanoi is gradually transforming itself into a locality with a faster and stronger pace of economic restructuring towards services, green economy, and clean economy than other provinces and cities in the country.
Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh hopes that with the development momentum over the past 70 years, with determination, with its position as the center of politics, economy, culture and science and technology, Hanoi will soon have new developments, creating higher labor productivity, greater efficiency for the country's economic development.
Taking trade, services and tourism as spearheads
According to Dr. Le Quoc Phuong - former Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, over the past 70 years, Hanoi has achieved great socio-economic development achievements. Especially the strongest development since the expansion of administrative boundaries.
In the past, Hanoi was simply the administrative center of the whole country, but today, with the special attention of the Central Government, along with the efforts of the Party Committee, government and people of the Capital, Hanoi has become the locomotive of the whole country in the fields of economy, culture, education...
"Hanoi's economic model has changed positively, which is to make trade, services, and tourism the spearhead. Along with that, Hanoi also develops according to new economic models in the world. Currently, the trade and service sector accounts for nearly 2/3 of the total local GRDP. This is a quite correct direction" - Dr. Le Quoc Phuong assessed.
In terms of trade, in the past, Hanoi only had a few markets and small retailers, mainly serving the daily needs of the people. Today, Hanoi's trade sector has become a major economic sector, not only serving the people's lives but also ensuring supply for production and business, contributing to Hanoi's economic growth.
Hanoi currently has a fairly modern commercial system, including about 30 shopping centers, nearly 150 supermarkets, 455 markets (both wholesale and retail), thousands of convenience stores, hundreds of vending machines. In addition, there are tens of thousands of retail households with hundreds of thousands of business establishments.
"Tourism is becoming a key economic sector, putting Hanoi in the top 10 cities with the fastest tourism growth in the world, and ranking 15th in the list of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. In 2023, the number of tourists to Hanoi will reach 24 million (20 million domestic visitors; 4 million international visitors)" - Mr. Phuong commented.
