Land revenue increased nearly 4 times, why is Ho Chi Minh City under heavy pressure?

Land revenue increased nearly 4 times

According to Director of the Department of Finance Nguyen Cong Vinh, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in 8 months reached more than 1,038 trillion VND, up 15.6% over the same period. In August alone, tourism service revenue increased by 38.9%, recording the highest level since the beginning of 2024.

Import-export activities continued to maintain growth with export turnover reaching 61.21 billion USD, up 6.35%; import turnover reaching 65.67 billion USD, up 9.03%. However, compared to the national average, the export growth rate of Ho Chi Minh City is still much slower (6.4% compared to 14.3%).

Ho Chi Minh City's economy continued to have impressive growth in the first 8 months of the year.

The industrial production index in August increased by 10.2%, the highest level since March 2025. However, the overall increase in the first 8 months was only 6% due to the sharp decline in the oil and gas exploitation and electricity production industries (the electricity industry decreased by 36%). In contrast, the city's 4 key industries still maintained an increase of over 11%, affirming the effectiveness of production support policies.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction reached 6.86 billion USD, up more than 43% over the same period last year. This is a positive signal, showing that Ho Chi Minh City continues to be an attractive destination for international investors.

Total state budget revenue in the area in the first 8 months reached 524,234 billion VND, equal to 78.1% of the estimate and increased by 15.5% over the same period. Most notably, land revenue increased nearly 4 times, making an important contribution to the budget balance.

Business decline, inflation increase

Mr. Tran Phuoc Tuong - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office - said that the number of newly established enterprises in the first 8 months decreased by 13.9%, registered capital decreased by 35%, the average capital size of an enterprise was only 6.1 billion VND, much lower than 8.1 billion VND in the same period in 2024.

Rising inflation will affect people's lives and the overall development of the economy.

This situation reflects the difficult business environment, weakening competitiveness and cautious sentiment of domestic investors. This is a direct risk that will hinder sustainable growth if there are no timely solutions to support businesses.

Inflationary pressures are also becoming increasingly evident. The average consumer price index (CPI) for the first eight months increased by more than 4% - the highest in the country. Of which, the price of medical services increased by 15.4%, education by 7.84%, housing and construction materials by 7.4%. Although the CPI in August increased by only 0.04% compared to the previous month, controlling the prices of essential goods remains a big challenge for the city.

Another bottleneck is the progress of public investment disbursement. By the end of August, Ho Chi Minh City had only disbursed VND51,533 billion, reaching more than 41% of the target assigned by the Government , while two-thirds of the year had passed. If not accelerated in the final months, the risk of a large volume being accumulated at the end of the year will affect investment efficiency and overall growth rate. In addition, the progress of administrative reform and the arrangement of the two-level apparatus is also slow, many tasks have not met requirements.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc warned: "If there is no fundamental solution, we will continue to be sluggish and miss out on development opportunities." The main reason lies in the unclear coordination between management boards, departments and commune and ward authorities. Many projects are delayed due to problems with site clearance, legal procedures or perfectionism in handling documents.

In addition, key projects in Thu Thiem, Bau Cat and Vuon Dua areas still face many obstacles. City leaders assert that if these issues are not resolved quickly, these areas will continue to be “blockages” that slow down investment flows and reduce economic growth.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office, to achieve the target of GRDP growth of 8.5% for the whole year, the city must achieve an increase of over 10% in the fourth quarter. This is an especially difficult task, because currently the industry has only increased by 6%, while this is an important growth pillar.

“Unacceptable” shortcomings

Ho Chi Minh City has 168 communes and wards, but there are still 7 units that have not completed the payment of salaries to officials, in some places the commune chairmen have to pay out of their own pocket to pay employees. In addition, 14 communes and wards have not opened bank accounts, 50 communes and wards have not opened accounts for the front, and 19 units have not fully paid salaries. Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc said that these are "unacceptable" shortcomings, especially when the city has implemented a two-level government for many years.

Tourism is considered one of the key sectors that will be focused on development in the last months of the year.

Another problem is the situation of both surplus and shortage of personnel at the grassroots level. Many communes and wards lack specialized staff in land, construction, project management, and finance. The pressure of work on the grassroots level has caused some staff to resign, creating a situation of "resignation" and increasing difficulties in processing records and procedures for the people.

To overcome this, the city leaders have directed the Department of Home Affairs to coordinate with departments and branches to dispatch staff to directly support and "hand-hold" the grassroots; thoroughly handle each specific problem, instead of reporting in general terms. Mr. Duoc emphasized that in the current information technology context, all data and progress are clearly understood by the Central Government and the highest leaders. Therefore, it is impossible to "hide behind vague numbers", but must be demonstrated by specific results in practice.