HCMC economic growth at 5-year high in H1

It marked a big jump from the below 4% growth seen in the first half of 2022 and 2023, the office said on Monday.

The services sector was the biggest contributor to the growth with a 7.26% year-on-year increase, followed by industry and construction with 5.55%.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries grew at 0.18%.

Retail sales of goods and services rose by 10% as numerous programs were implemented to stimulate demand and boost tourism during the summer season.

The industrial production index saw a three-year high growth rate of 5.6% and exports were up 3.1% to US$20.6 billion.

Businesses have stepped up investment in expansion.

In the last six months nearly 25,250 new businesses were established with a total registered capital of VND214.7 trillion ($8.44 billion), according to official data, a 9.6% increase in number and 1% increase in capital.

According to a survey of manufacturing and processing firms in HCMC, around 37% of participants said their businesses have improved in the first half while 36.6% saw few changes and 26.4% reported a decline.

As of June loans outstanding at banks increased by 10.2% year-on-year.

Public investment was VND8.19 trillion or a mere 10.3% of the full-year allocation.

To foster growth in the second half, efforts need to be made to quickly resolve legal hurdles and improve financial disbursement, the statistics office said.

The city should also pay attention to programs that spur consumer demand and support the development of e-commerce to boost the services sector further, it added.