HCM City (VNS/VNA) – HoChi Minh City’s Department of Industry and Trade met with more than 50 experts,researchers and business leaders at a meeting on August 3 to discuss solutionsto develop the city’s main products in the trading and services sector.

Speaking at the meeting,Nguyen Phuong Dong, the department’s deputy director, said the sector had thehighest growth rate among the city’s economic sectors for a number of years.

In 2016, the sectorcontributed 63.2 percent to the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP).

Under the city’s plan,modern trade channels will account for at least 40 percent of the city’s totalretail sales by 2020 and 20 percent by 2025, compared to 25 percent now.

This will require greateffort from enterprises and city authorities to expand the scale of goodsexchange and meet demand of residents in their choice of shopping channels.

“The city plans todevelop a list of key products in the trade and services sector and identifythe most suitable support policies to exploit potential and advantages, as wellas meet local demand and enhance exports,” he said.

A representative ofSaigon Co.op said a key product of the city’s trading and services sector is“modern trade”. Many consumers have shifted to modern trade channels and thetrend will continue.

Hesuggested criteria for selecting enterprises with “the best developed keyproducts”, including annual revenue, profit-to-sales ratio, distributionnetworks, the number of customers a year, number of labourers, diversificationof business models, amenities for customers, application of 4.0 technology,brand ranking, and others.

He said the city shouldhelp local retailers access reasonable capital sources, untie difficultiesfaced by the latter in land clearance and taxes, and help them improve theircompetitiveness amid stiff competition with foreign players.

Nguyen Phuc Khoa, Vice Chairmanof the Saigon Trading Group, said "selecting modern retail as a "keyproduct" is necessary, and that the city should focus on developinglogistics services for the retail sector.

Regarding logistics,Pham Thi Thuy Van, Marketing Deputy Director of Saigon NewportCorporation, said the amount of import-export goods via Tan Cang –Sai Gon portsystem had increased by 10-12 percent per year.

Most foreign firms useCat Lai port to ship goods to Vietnam thanks to its good services and inlandcontainer depot systems along Hanoi Highway.

However, according tothe city’s plan until 2020, ports along the Sai Gon River must be moved to thesouth of the city.

Saigon port hasalready been moved to Hiep Phuoc, while Khanh Hoi and Tan Thuan ports will bemoved soon.

However, there is a lackof logistics services and infrastructure connection in the south of the city,despite the existence of a zoning plan for the southern area to develop portclusters.

If the city does notimprove the situation soon, the city will lose its competitiveness in thissector because Long An and Binh Duong are focusing on developing internationalport systems, according to Van.

In addition, in order todevelop the port system and warehouses, the city needs to allocate land toinvestors, because the land price has been increasing strongly in the city.

Delegates at the meetingalso suggested choosing logistic services, tourism (especially tourism combinedwith agriculture), and medical and education services as the city’s keyproducts in the trading and services sector.-VNS/VNA