On the morning of September 25, 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee solemnly held the opening ceremony of the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum. With the theme “Industrial Transformation: New Momentum for Ho Chi Minh City’s Sustainable Development”, the forum attracted many domestic and international economic experts. Important figures attending the opening ceremony included Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Politburo member and Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, and leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.
Ho Chi Minh City Faces Development Challenges
Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen delivered an important speech at the opening ceremony. He pointed out that as the national center for economy, finance, trade, culture, education, and technology, Ho Chi Minh City is facing urgent demands to improve people’s quality of life and build a civilized, modern city that values sentiment and righteousness. Nguyen Van Nen emphasized that at the current stage, in addition to implementing various sustainable development solutions, Ho Chi Minh City will also take green and sustainable transformation as its core task, industrial transformation as its development driver, digital transformation as its breakthrough point, and development cooperation as an important and necessary task.
Three Major Challenges to Be Addressed
Nguyen Van Nen pointed out that Ho Chi Minh City currently needs to focus on overcoming three major challenges:
- Quickly improve socio-economic infrastructure, especially transportation, technology, and environmental infrastructure systems;
- Improve human resource quality, promote institutional and administrative reforms;
- Introduce superior and breakthrough policies to mobilize development resources, alleviate difficulties, and create opportunities and favorable conditions for enterprises to invest, operate, and develop.
Forum Focuses on Industrial Transformation
After the opening ceremony, a plenary session of the forum was held. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions around the forum’s theme, covering topics such as global industrial transformation, governance ecosystems, and policies to promote the industrial transformation process. Against the backdrop of regional and international connectivity, Ho Chi Minh City’s industrial transformation also became a focus of attention for the participants.
Ho Chi Minh City’s Economic Position Faces Challenges
Pham Binh An, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, analyzed the city’s economic position at the meeting. He pointed out that although Ho Chi Minh City only accounts for 0.63% of the country’s area and 9.4% of its population, it contributes 15.9% to GDP, 39.9% to budget revenue, and receives 39.9% of foreign tourists. Moreover, Ho Chi Minh City ranks first in the country in terms of total import-export value and ability to attract foreign investment.
However, Pham Binh An also highlighted the challenges facing Ho Chi Minh City. Recently, the city’s core position and role have shown a declining trend. Although Ho Chi Minh City’s enterprises account for 30% of the country’s total, their competitive advantage is not obvious. The export proportion has rapidly decreased, accounting for only 12% of the national total in 2023. The proportion of industrial sectors in the economy has also declined, accounting for only 19% of GRDP in 2022, lower than the national average of 32%.
Industrial Transformation: New Direction for Ho Chi Minh City’s Development
Pham Binh An suggested that Ho Chi Minh City should undertake economic adjustment or industrial transformation, including dual transformation and value chain upgrading, developing core industries to seek new growth drivers. He proposed that Ho Chi Minh City should transform along three axes: green transformation, digital transformation, and sustainable development, while upgrading industries and sectors with high added value content.
International Perspective: Global Industrial Transformation Trends
Kiva Allgood, Head of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain at the World Economic Forum, also spoke at the forum, discussing global industrial transformation trends and various factors affecting industrial transformation, providing an internationalized perspective for Ho Chi Minh City’s development.
Summary of Key Points:
- As Vietnam’s economic center, Ho Chi Minh City is facing major challenges in industrial transformation and sustainable development.
- City leaders have proposed three key tasks: improving infrastructure, enhancing human resource quality, and promoting institutional reforms.
- Despite Ho Chi Minh City’s important position in the national economy, its core competitiveness has shown a declining trend recently, urgently needing to seek new growth drivers through industrial transformation.
- Experts suggest that Ho Chi Minh City should focus on green transformation, digital transformation, and sustainable development as main axes to promote economic restructuring and industrial upgrading.
- International experience and trend analysis provide valuable references for Ho Chi Minh City’s industrial transformation, helping to formulate more forward-looking development strategies.
