HCM City enjoys good economic recovery, development signals
Socio-economic recovery and development have been seen in Ho Chi Minh City – the biggest economic hub in southern Vietnam, with strong growth in production and business activities.
HCM City (VNA) – Socio-economic recovery anddevelopment have been seen in Ho Chi Minh City – the biggest economichub in southern Vietnam, with strong growth in production and business activities.
In May, the city’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose6.5 percent over the previous month and 9 percent year on year. As a result,the city’s IIP in the first five months of this year expanded 2.6 percent yearon year.
Strong rises were seen in many sectors,including processing-manufacturing at 44.8 percent and rubber and plastic productproduction 33.1 percent.
A representative from the city Department of Industry andTrade said that trade and service activities in the city started to recover from several months ago. Despite the strong increase in petrol price, localfirms have struggled to overcome difficulties from the rise in material pricestowards recovery and development, said the representative.
Statistics showed that total revenue from retail and service activities in thecity in May reached 96.28 trillion VND (4.15 billion USD), up 0.8 percent overApril and 10.4 percent compared to the same period last year. In the first fivemonths of 2022, the figure hit 456.15 trillion VND (19.67 billion USD), a riseof 0.6 percent year on year.
Local firms attributed the increase to recovery in the number of touristarrivals after the Government decided to fully open the tourism sector fromMarch, especially during the 31st Southeast Asian Games, and the increasein wedding party bookings.
Meanwhile, the expansion of online shopping as well as development of logisticstechnologies have bolstered trade activities. Vietnam ranks second in SoutheastAsia in e-commerce, and the sector’s value is forecast to reach 39 billion USDin 2025.
As of the end of the first quarter of this year, more than 8 million consumersin Vietnam involved in online shopping, 55 percent of which come from urbanareas. A survey showed that 99 percent of them intend to continue to shoponline in the coming time./.
Vietnam’s e-commerce sector is estimated to have grown by more than 20 percent to 16 billion USD in 2021, according to the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM).
Enterprises in HCM City exported 20.7 billion USD worth of goods in the first five months of 2022, posting a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent, according to the municipal Statistics Office.
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A corner of HCM City (Photo: VNA) 
