Ho Chi Minh City re-establishes its role as the economic locomotive of Vietnam

Breakthrough production, infrastructure accelerates

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office, industrial production in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2025 will continue to have a positive trend as it enters the peak season, many businesses increase production to meet the sharp increase in consumer demand at the end of the year. Many industries recorded high growth, typically the production of electrical equipment, textiles, and garments thanks to the synchronized supply chain after the process of arranging administrative units, helping to reduce logistics costs and increase productivity.

In addition, departments, branches, localities and investors are focusing resources, speeding up progress, and removing obstacles to speed up the disbursement of public investment capital.

Dr. Tran Quang Thang - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Economics and Management - commented that after a short time of implementing Resolution 98, the city has achieved and exceeded the plan for many socio-economic targets, creating a foundation for rapid and sustainable development. Key infrastructure projects such as beltways, metro, canal renovation, etc. have been cleared in terms of capital and procedures, and progress has been accelerated. Along with that, the confidence of businesses and investors increased when Ho Chi Minh City could make quick decisions, without being stuck in the stage of asking for opinions from superiors.

In particular, regarding capital settlement and resettlement, Resolution 98 allows the city to use public investment budgets to compensate, support and resettle right in areas around the station, instead of waiting for the Central Government's approval.

Thanks to the special mechanism, Ho Chi Minh City can quickly deploy intersections, reduce congestion and create momentum for regional development. Resolution 98 helps the city not only remove procedures for major projects such as metro No. 1 and Ring Road 3, but also create direct socio-economic impacts: Increase budget revenue from land exploitation, reduce traffic congestion, improve quality of life and expand job opportunities for people" - Mr. Thang emphasized.

Ho Chi Minh City is preparing to pilot a commodity exchange and is gradually moving towards forming the Ho Chi Minh City Commodity Exchange, thereby bringing many items closer to consumers.

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung said that the city is focusing on implementing many key programs, including completing processes and procedures to implement the Central Government's policy on building the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City leaders expect the International Financial Center to become an important capital mobilization channel, creating more resources for the business community.

Among the assigned tasks, the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City is responsible for building the Department of Commodity Exchange of Ho Chi Minh City. Due to not having experience in implementing this model, the department has proposed a pilot by building a commodity trading floor, initially a pork trading floor.

Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong - Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade - said that pork was chosen because through the previous traceability project, the collected data showed that this product meets many international criteria to be able to be put on the trading floor. The Department has reported and received approval from the city leaders for the pilot. No later than the end of the first quarter of 2026, the pork trading floor will officially operate.

Expected breakthrough in 2026

According to the report on the socio-economic situation of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, in 2025, GRDP is estimated to increase by 8.03%. Total GRDP reached VND2.74 trillion, accounting for 23.5% of the country's GDP. Total budget revenue reached VND 748,438 billion, up 9.6% over the same period and contributing 31.2% to the whole country. This is also the first year that Ho Chi Minh City has completed the budget revenue target since October.

In 2025, many socio-economic indicators will increase sharply, showing a clear recovery of the city's economy. In particular, tourism leads with total revenue estimated at VND 260,000 billion, up 36.1% over the same period. Total retail sales of goods and service revenue increased by 13.5%; transportation revenue increased by 14.3%; industrial production index increased by 9%.

At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City is also clearly recognizing opportunities and challenges in the context of a "shattered" and "uncertain" global economy. According to Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, the city possesses strong resources from the large population, a training system focusing on the advantages of seaports, urban areas, industry, and services. However, the city still has many limitations, especially in connecting transportation and infrastructure.

Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City is forced to have breakthrough solutions to break through the new growth cycle.

Mr. Dominic Scriven - Chairman of Dragon Capital - commented that 2026 will be a particularly favorable year for the Vietnamese economy. The signs of recovery from businesses, public investment, export markets and capital markets show that the economy is converging many factors to make a breakthrough.

GDP growth in 2026 may reach 9.3 - 10%, a scenario that was once considered out of reach; corporate profit growth is forecast to be over 16%.

A notable motivation is the inclusion of 5 million individual business households in the Official Economic Zone. New regulations such as bank payments and electronic invoices are expected to make cash flow transparent and expand contributions to the economy. This factor alone can help GDP increase by about 1% per year in the next 3 years.

" Belief has returned. Many businesses said that they see a brighter market, more stable orders and the motivation to expand investment. Vietnam is in a good position in the cycle. The opportunity for a breakthrough is very clear, Mr. Scriven emphasized.

With the current growth momentum and the resonance of new drivers, Ho Chi Minh City is affirming its position as the economic locomotive of Vietnam. Not only has the city recovered strongly, it is also leading a new development trend in innovation, high-tech industry and high-quality services. Ho Chi Minh City's breakthrough is a positive signal for the entire Southeast region and the national economy.

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