Ho Chi Minh City strives to fulfill growth target

Service industry creates momentum for Ho Chi Minh City's economy

Ho Chi Minh City's GRDP increased by more than 7% in the past 9 months. According to experts, this is a positive growth rate, affirming the effectiveness of economic management and the role of "locomotive" of the megacity with an economic scale accounting for about 1/4 of the country. Notably, the service sector continues to be the main driving force, with an increase of nearly 8.6%, contributing more than 61% to the overall growth. Domestic purchasing power has recovered, helping the consumer market become vibrant again.

Although it has only been in operation since the beginning of the year, the number of customers coming to this restaurant has increased steadily by 15% each month. This is largely due to the more open spending mentality of consumers.

Ms. Le Thi Hong Hanh - Manager of Bounce Kitchen restaurant, Ho Chi Minh City said: "According to our assessment and actual data, when customers come back to us, their spending on each bill is slightly higher than before. Maybe because when customers come back for the second or third time, they may like our restaurant for the food or the taste... so the spending on each bill increases by about 10 - 15%".

With essential shopping baskets, according to retailers’ calculations, since the beginning of the year, the value of consumers’ shopping baskets has improved by about 10% compared to before. On average, about 330,000 VND - 350,000 VND per shopping trip.

To maintain the recovery momentum, many businesses have implemented price stabilization and real promotions strategies. The goal is to increase the value of the shopping basket to 350,000 VND - 400,000 VND per purchase.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Van - Communications Director of Central Retail Group shared: "In recent months, we have been running trial programs, Korean week, agricultural week, fruit week. We see that people are also curious. The supermarket is more crowded, the value of the shopping basket has increased."

In the past 9 months, Ho Chi Minh City has welcomed more than 5.88 million international visitors and more than 29 million domestic visitors, bringing in revenue of more than 184,000 billion VND. The expansion of administrative boundaries creates an additional "inter-regional - inter-route" advantage, helping businesses easily connect products and increase competitiveness.

Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang - Deputy General Director of Vietravel Travel Company commented: "Create more products with unique cuisine of Ho Chi Minh City as well as unique cuisine of Vietnam. Combine Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring areas so that we have more product sets, add more days to visit the tour, so that customers can stay longer".

Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism commented: "Currently, the City's tourism revenue has exceeded the rate of visitors to Ho Chi Minh City. To achieve this requirement, the quality of service and products is the most important. Besides, we must grasp new trends in the world, tourist behavior and apply information technology".

With the positive growth momentum of the service sector, Ho Chi Minh City is entering the final stage, with the peak being the promotional season concentrated in mid-November and a series of year-end festival events. Businesses said that this is the golden time to stimulate consumption, expand market share and "finish" their business plans.

In the general picture, Ho Chi Minh City's exports still rank first in the country with a turnover of more than 68 billion USD.

Businesses accelerate exports in the last months of the year

In the general picture, Ho Chi Minh City's exports still rank first in the country with a turnover of over 68 billion USD. In the face of fluctuations in the world economy, businesses and the City government are making efforts to accelerate to maintain growth momentum in the last months of the year.

More than 10,000 boxes of cakes per month is an order that the company is rushing to fulfill in time to deliver to new partners in the Cambodian market. Traditional markets such as the US, Japan, Korea... also increased orders to serve the year-end holiday season. The increase in orders makes the company expect that this year's export growth rate can reach 15%.

Mr. Tran Van Tuyen - Director of Thien Sa Foods Company said: "Initially, our plan was still for the export market to account for 60%. But with new customers and new output, that market is increasing the export proportion to 70%. We have no days off, and are having to work two shifts to meet the export market."

Other key industries such as seafood, textiles, footwear, wood products, etc. also accelerated production, completing the yearly plan.

Ms. Nguyen Kim Hau - General Director of Seaspimex Vietnam Seafood Joint Stock Company shared: "Customers are coming to me more, there are old customers, orders are increasing and there are new customers starting to come to the company. It is possible that by the end of 2025, we will increase at least 15% compared to 2024".

Mr. Nguyen Chi Trung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gia Dinh Group Corporation commented: "We diversify the market, find niche markets and markets that have received little attention in the past. Particularly for the US market, because we have prepared well in terms of designs and delivery time, customers are still reputable and accept the number of orders for us."

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade said that in the context of deep integration and shifting global supply chains, it poses a great challenge to the city's economic growth. However, the Ho Chi Minh City government still maintains the growth target of 8.5%, while proactively developing response plans and supporting businesses.

Mr. Bui Ta Hoang Vu - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City commented: "We will help the community of business associations to find niche markets, markets that are not the previous advantages and traditions of Ho Chi Minh City. Priority policies and support for export activities will also be considered to build policy frameworks to submit to the People's Council".

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City has been supplemented with much larger production and export capacity than before. This is considered the foundation for the City to continue maintaining its position as an "export locomotive", while creating new room for growth in the following years.

This year, Ho Chi Minh City has set a target of 8.5% GRDP growth. This means that in the last three months of the year, the city must achieve a growth rate of at least 13%. Along with the two main driving forces of consumption and export, accelerating key infrastructure projects and disbursing public investment are identified as the key to help the city accelerate and reach the annual growth target.

Source: https://vtv.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-no-luc-hoan-thanh-muc-tieu-tang-truong-10025102223151369.htm