Customers shop at a supermarket in HCM City. — VNS Photo Thu Hang
HCM City’s economy continued to recover this year, with its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) forecast to expand 9.4 per cent in 2022, surpassing its target of 6-6.5 per cent, according to the municipal People’s Committee.
The city’s GRDP grew 9.9 per cent in the first ten months of the year compared to the same period last year.
High growth rates of industrial production, trade and services, and State budget collection in the January-October period reflected strong economic activities, said Phan Van Mai, chairman of the People’s Committee.
Despite a strongly performing economy, uncertainties related to the global economic slowdown and inflation pressures will affect the city’s economic growth next year, he said at the committee’s monthly socio-economic meeting on Tuesday.
The city will focus on efforts to speed up public investment disbursement which remains slow, he said.
As of October 20, the city’s total public investment disbursement reached VND11 trillion (US$443 million) or 29 per cent of the year’s target.
The city will also make efforts to supply the economy with capital amid tightening monetary policy, he added.
Tran Du Lich, a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, said the city’s economic growth has reached beyond expectation so far this year, but the economy will face headwinds from the global slowdown in Q4 and in 2023.
Disrupted supply chains and rising logistics costs have slowed exports, he said.
He suggested that the city should continue to implement measures to speed up economic recovery and support businesses with policies such as tax exemptions and reductions, and low lending interest rates.
The city’s retail sales of goods and services were estimated at VND899 trillion ($36.2 billion) in the first ten months of the year, up 29.9 year-on-year, according to the city’s Department of Planning and Investment.
In October, retail sales of goods and services rose by 78.7 per cent year-on-year to reach VND94.9 trillion ($3.8 billion).
The city’s import-export turnover during the first ten months of the year totaled $40.8 billion, a 13.4 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
It attracted $3.42 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in January-October period, up 25.3 per cent year-on-year.
A total of 693 newly-registered FDI projects were worth $443.9 million, an increase of 47.8 per cent in number of projects and 6.7 per cent in capital compared to the same period last year. — VNS