Pandemic-hit HCM City looks to sustain growth momentum this year

HCM City's total retail sales of goods and services reach about 542 trillion VND (23.5 billion USD) in the first half of 2021. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City, the biggest economic hub in southern Vietnam, aims to sustain growth momentum in the remaining months of 2021 even when it is battling the worst-ever COVID-19 resurgence which began in late May.

Data from the municipal Statistics Office, the city’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) grew 5.46 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year. Total retail sales of goods and services reached about 542 trillion VND (23.5 billion USD), up 7.3 percent year-on-year. Budget revenue exceeded 198.56 trillion VND, up 20.7 percent and representing 55.7 percent of the yearly plan.

Its Industrial Production Index (IIP) picked up 5.9 percent during the period, with growth seen in all four key industries – food and beverage (1.2 percent), pharmaceutical chemistry (2.6 percent), electronics (15.6 percent), and mechanical engineering (10.7 percent).

This year, HCM City sets to achieve a GRDP growth of 6 percent or higher and collect over 364.89 trillion VND for the State budget, accounting for 24.79 percent of the national total.

A corner of Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)

In a recent meeting with local leaders to check the city’s COVID-19 response, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly spoke of the city’s efforts to realise the “twin goals” of keeping the coronavirus at bay and maintaining positive economic growth from January to June, saying it has upheld its critical role and position as the growth driver of the Southern Key Economic Region and the country.

Amid the growing complexity of the pandemic, HCM City is striving to keep production running while strictly enforcing quarantine rules in order to fulfill its twin goals, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong.

He cited a scenario developed by the HCM City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS) as forecasting that the city’s GRDP growth will reach 5.02 percent in the first nine months of 2021 and 4.9 percent for the entire year if the COVID-19 outbreak is stamped out by August.

HIDS Director Assoc. Prof, Dr. Tran Hoang Ngan said to maintain economic growth, HCM City should not only contain the virus as soon as possible but also remove backlogs and challenges in land clearance and delivery of public administration services to speed up progress of public investment disbursement and long-delayed projects, particularly major ones, such as the Ring Roads No.2 and 3 and Thu Thiem 2 Bridge.

Once the pandemic is put under control, restored consumer confidence will stimulate retail sales and travel, reviving the economy, Ngan said./.