Positive changes are being recorded in Ho Chi Minh City’s economy, with good growth rate in the trade and service sector and signs of recovery in industry production.

The assessment was given during a recent conference held by the Municipal People’s Committee to discuss the socio-economic, cultural, defence and security issues that faced the city in November and looking ahead to the last month of the year.

Participants at the event noted that total turnover of the city retail sector in November is estimated to reach 54.9 trillion VND, up 4.3 percent over the previous month and 12.2 percent year on year.

The result has pushed the 11 month figure to 548.5 trillion VND (25.77 billion USD), a rise of 12.3 percent over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the city posted a 5 percent month-on-month rise in its November industry production index, recording a year-on-year increase of 6.1 percent for 11 months. Construction materials, food processing and metal production are among sectors that saw strong growth in the month.

Recovery has notably been seen among businesseses, with the number of newly-established firms increasing by 7 percent over the same period last year and the number of dissolved companies down 3.6 percent.

According to Dao Thi Huong Lan, head of the municipal Department of Finance, budget collection is another positive aspect that the city has seen. In November, Ho Chi Minh City collected about 204.2 trillion VND (9.6 billion USD) for the budget, fulfilling 86.2 percent of the estimate, up 8.6 percent year on year.

However, attendees also pointed out socio-economic difficulties that the city faces, including a 39 percent drop in registered capital of newly-founded enterprises.

Meanwhile, export turnover has seen 12.9 percent fall year-on-year. Except for earnings from crude oil, total exports of the city in November are standing at 1.65 billion USD, down 3.1 percent over November and 7.7 percent over the same period in 2012.

In the first 11 months of this year, Ho Chi Minh City earned 24 billion USD from exports, a decrease of 7.3 percent year on year.

The municipal People’s Committee held that the reason behind the fall was a decrease in crude oil export, which saw a 13 percent decline in volume and 3.8 percent in value.

Besides, price drop of some export earners, especially agro-forestry and fisheries products, also one of the negative factors, it said.

In December, the key tasks that the city has defined to fulfil its 2013 target include exerting more efforts in investment disbursement, speeding up progress of state-invested projects, especially key ones.-VNA