The shopping center remains closed.

"Hot" real estate properties close down.

In early June, numerous commercial spaces on central streets of Ho Chi Minh City, such as Ly Tu Trong, Le Thanh Ton, Le Loi, and Dong Khoi, still displayed "For Rent" signs. These were mostly spaces that had been closed since the end of last year and had yet to find tenants. The most noticeable example was the frontage on Le Loi Street (District 1), next to Ben Thanh Market and extending to the Pasteur intersection, which was deserted. The city center had become less congested since the end of April when the metro line's construction barriers were officially removed, but still lacked tenants. Similarly, some spaces on Dong Khoi Street, once considered the most expensive street in the city, remained closed.

According to the author's survey, the number of closed premises and "for rent" signs is higher than in February – the period after the Lunar New Year in 2023. At the intersection of Nguyen Hue and Ngo Duc Ke, once a very popular Japanese restaurant, the storefront is now plastered with "for rent" advertisements. Following this, several townhouses also display "for rent" signs, creating a deserted area. Near Notre Dame Cathedral, McDonald's and Saigon La Poste - Café Lounge have ceased operations, and the premises have yet to find new tenants. The area around Turtle Lake on Pham Ngoc Thach Street is also desolate, with many cafes unable to survive.

Numerous commercial spaces on central streets in Ho Chi Minh City remain closed.

Nguyen Trai Street, a fashion street stretching from District 1 to District 5, also has many shops that have ceased operations. Unlike the bustling crowds of shoppers before, many shops now have only one or two customers browsing, or just the salesperson. Moving to Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, the number of closed businesses is interspersed with remaining shops… This trend isn't limited to fashion stores; restaurants, cafes, and many companies and offices are following suit. Many places may have only recently closed, as their old signs haven't been removed yet.

Generally speaking, purchasing power in most sectors is currently low. Meanwhile, the cost of renting retail space in central areas of the city is quite expensive, making it unaffordable for many businesses. A shop owner at a fashion store on Nguyen Trai Street shared that the rent for a street-front property remains around 100 million VND per month. After the Covid-19 pandemic, rents have decreased but not significantly, while purchasing power continues to decline. For larger spaces at intersections on more popular streets like Ly Tu Trong and Nguyen Hue, rents can reach around 500 million VND per month. Adding in staff and management costs, while customer traffic remains low, it's difficult to make a profit.

The property in the prime location has been closed for months.

The situation hasn't improved.

Ms. Ngoc Hoa, owner of a women's clothing manufacturing facility in Tan Phu District, lamented, "Business is slower than ever before." She explained that her facility specializes in wholesale women's fashion clothing for several stalls in Tan Binh and An Dong markets. Previously, her facility sold nearly a thousand products per month on average. However, since the Lunar New Year, sales have been minimal. In fact, she sold less than a hundred products in the entire month of May. "Before, each stall would call to order several hundred items at a time. Now, sometimes we wait a whole month without receiving a call. After decades in this business, this is the first time I've experienced such a slump. I don't know when things will improve," Ms. Ngoc Hoa worried.

Bui Vien Street, known as the "Western Street," is hit by a wave of shop owners returning their leased premises: Shop owners are working 20 hours a day just to survive.

Even businesses selling electronics and mobile phones are struggling. The "giant" The Gioi Dien May (Mobile World) announced a 23% decrease in revenue for the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year. Specifically, the The Gioi Dien May and Dien May Xanh chains saw a 30% drop in revenue. The Bach Hoa Xanh grocery chain recorded a 4% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year, but the company closed 20 stores. Previously, The Gioi Dien May's Q1 2023 report showed a nearly 26% decrease in revenue, but profits plummeted by 98.5% compared to Q1 2022. Even grocery stores are reporting continued declines in consumer demand with no signs of recovery...

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet, Deputy Director of the Institute for Economic and Policy Research at the University of Economics (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), said that according to his observations, not only in Ho Chi Minh City but also in Hanoi, the number of businesses closing or shops closing early on weekends is quite high. Spending and shopping remain sparse and show no significant difference compared to the beginning of the year. While households are tightening their spending, businesses are also adopting a defensive approach. Surveys and discussions with many businesses show that inventory levels in all sectors are high as both export and domestic demand plummet. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in Vietnam and many other countries continues to remain low, below 50 points, indicating that production has not yet recovered.

"Consumption of services in the two economic hubs of the country, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, has not yet truly seen positive changes," emphasized Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet. Therefore, he proposed that the government needs to vigorously implement more simultaneous and decisive policies, both monetary and fiscal, to support businesses and people, because "one hand alone is not enough; two hands are needed." Especially now that inflation is no longer a threat to Vietnam, the government can aggressively promote various activities to build confidence among businesses and the people.

Furthermore, many policies have been introduced but have not been truly effective due to weak implementation. For example, public spending policies are still stalled, leaving nearly 1 trillion VND idle in the treasury without entering the economy. Similarly, the 2% interest rate support package for businesses; the loan policy to support the development of social housing and homebuyers have also not progressed. The 2% value-added tax reduction policy is still pending... It is necessary to implement many policies to immediately reduce various costs for businesses. Only then can we improve the competitiveness of domestic goods, help businesses become profitable, which in turn means workers have income, thus stimulating domestic consumption.

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), released by S&P Global, fell to 45.3 in May from 46.7 in April. This marks the third consecutive month of decline and the largest drop since September 2021. Vietnam's manufacturing sector continued to weaken in May as demand remained sluggish. Output and new orders declined sharply as companies reduced employment and purchasing activity accordingly. Meanwhile, business confidence continued to decline. With new orders continuing to fall, companies also reduced output midway through the second quarter. Output decreased across all three manufacturing sectors, with the sharpest decline in the intermediate goods sector. Some companies reduced their workforce due to decreased workload. This, coupled with some voluntary layoffs, led to a continued decline in employment in May, although the rate of decrease was less severe than in the previous survey. Inventories of finished goods also decreased as companies adjusted production to a drop in new orders. This was the first decrease in three months…

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