HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City recorded a grossregional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate of 7.64 percent in the firstquarter of 2019, equivalent to the pace during same period last year.

The figure was released at the 26th conferenceof the Executive Committee of the municipal Party Organisation on March 30.

Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s CommitteeLe Thanh Liem said during the first three months of 2019, the service sector’sproportion in the local economy has continued to increase, trading activitieshave kept developing, and agricultural production remains stable while theindustrial production index has posted faster growth than a year earlier.

Additionally, trade and tourism promotion hasbeen enhanced and resulted in positive outcomes, helping local businessesexpand their markets and attracting more foreign investment to the city, hesaid.

However, there remain numerous difficulties andchallenges facing HCM City, Liem noted, elaborating that the service sector,exports and imports recorded lower growth rates compared to the same periodlast year.

Meanwhile, site clearance for some public investment projectsis still sluggish, food safety ensuring at small-scale production and businessestablishments hasn’t received due attention, and the crime situation,especially drug crime, remains complex, the vice chairman added.

At the session, Politburo member and Secretaryof the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan recognised efforts bydepartments, sectors and districts of the city to fulfill development tasks in thefirst quarter of this year.

He said the local economic growth is “relativelyall right” in general, but the city has yet to feel completely secure aboutsectors when they stand separately.

Specifying some key solutions, officials at theevent said HCM City should push on with implementing the National Assembly’sResolution 54 on piloting special mechanisms and policies to speed up the city’sdevelopment , make breakthroughs in administrative reforms, and boost ITapplication to provide smart city services for residents and businesses.

It also needs to improve its indexes of publicadministrative reform, provincial competitiveness, and provincial governanceand public administration performance; promote its economic competitiveness; aswell as strengthen defence, security and social order and safety, theyadded.-VNA