Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City is stepping up efforts to accelerate economic growth in the final two months of 2026, focusing on traditional and emerging growth drivers to achieve 13.23% growth in gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the fourth quarter and more than 10% for the full year.
The municipal People's Committee has identified the year-end period as crucial to mobilising more than 1.2 quadrillion VND (46.7 billion USD) for development investment, boosting traditional and new growth drivers, and removing bottlenecks related to land, planning, site clearance, construction materials and investment procedures.
The city is also promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction and disbursement, prioritising large-scale projects in high technology, innovation, digital transformation, data centres, logistics and finance that generate high value added, while facilitating businesses' access to credit.
Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc has assigned specific growth targets to key sectors, including 14.14% for manufacturing and processing, 11.74% for trade and services, 17.11% for construction, and 19.14% for transport and warehousing.
In the first 10 months of 2026, the city's index of industrial production (IIP) rose 11%, with manufacturing and processing expanding 11.4%. Retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue reached an estimated 1.68 quadrillion VND, up 14.7%, while tourism revenue surged 37.71% to around 307.2 trillion VND.
Industry and trade – services are two traditional growth drivers Ho Chi Minh City is strongly enhancing.
To stimulate year-end consumption, the city has launched the “Vibrant HCMC” programme, running from November 2026 until the 2027 Lunar New Year, to boost purchasing power and expand commercial activities. Service growth is targeted at 13.84% in the final two months.
Dr Nguyen Van Son, a lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Banking, said revitalising traditional growth drivers while developing new ones is essential to achieving double-digit economic growth this year and the 2026–2030 period.
He highlighted industry, public investment and services as three key pillars, recommending stronger links between Ho Chi Minh City and other localities in tourism, retail, transport and cultural events, as well as the capitalisation of digital platforms to stimulate consumption.
The city is accelerating efforts to resolve difficulties facing businesses and long-delayed projects to unlock resources for investment, production and exports.
Director of the municipal Department of Finance Hoang Vu Thanh said the city is strongly improving the business environment, streamlining administrative procedures and supporting enterprises in line with Politburo Resolutions No. 68-NQ/TW and No. 10-NQ/TW, while promoting innovation, digital transformation and green transition.
By the end of October, obstacles had been resolved for 309 of 921 long-delayed projects, or 33.55%, while solutions had been identified for the remaining 612.
In local export processing and industrial zones, the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) reported that it had resolved difficulties involving 11 projects and identified solutions for four others during the first 10 months.
Disbursed investment in these zones exceeded 4.62 billion USD during the period. HEPZA expects the figure to reach 5.38 billion USD for the full year, up 15% from 4.66 billion USD in 2025.
In the remaining months, HEPZA said it will focus on supporting businesses seeking to expand operations, increase investment and upgrade technology, while updating information on available industrial land and factory facilities to attract new investors.
It is also accelerating investment procedures and strengthening support for major projects to mobilise additional resources and sustain growth momentum towards its double-digit target./.
VNA
