Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged Ho Chi Minh City – the economic hub of the nation - to sustain its GDP growth with a gradual shift from breadth to further depth in economic development by restructuring all sectors and adopting technological advances in both industry and farming.

Holding a working session in the city on December 7 with the municipal authorities about its 2013 socio-economic and cultural performances and tasks for 2014-2015, the PM insisted on macro-economic stability with inflation hovering about 7 percent in the next two years, during which the gold market and value of Vietnamese dong must be stabilised .

He demanded that the city retain its price stabilisation scheme and liquidity in the banking sector improve.

He asked for strong actions to achieve next year’s goals as the global economy is expected to perform better than this year and HCM City is in a good position to move forward against the backdrop of a recovering home economy and socio-political stability, he said.

Dung also hailed what the city has gained from 2011-2013, with an annual economic growth of 9.6 percent, 1.74 times higher than the country’s average. Social welfare, education, health care and employment have also fared well.

According to Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita hit over 4,500 USD in late 2013, 1.4 times higher than the 3,200 USD recorded in late 2010.

Over the past three years, the city’s economic structure has witnessed a shift to more high-value and competitive sectors like finance-banking-insurance, tourism, post and telecommunications, science-technology, education and health care, reported Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan.

Its goods and service sales grew by 17.6 percent, earning over 1.6 trillion VND (76 million USD) while the consumer price index rose by 6.9 percent, lower than the nation’s average of 9.15 percent.

Quan informed the Government leader that around 1.4 million households, or 89 percent of the local population, have access to clean water supplies. In rural areas, the rate reached 99.2 percent.

In the next two years, the city plans to achieve a GDP growth of 10.5-11 percent. The annual value-added growth of the service, industry and agriculture sectors is estimated at 12.5 percent, 9 percent and 5 percent respectively.

Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hong also briefed the PM of local preparations for the upcoming lunar New Year.-VNA