Southern hub knocking over its growth targets

Traffic chaos is one blot on the city’s copy book

According to a people’s committee report, all 14 socio-economic development targets for 2007 were achieved as of November and the city’s economic growth rate exceeded the average 12 per cent proposed in its 2006-2010 plan.

The city’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 11 months increased nearly 12 per cent in comparison with the 11.5 per cent gained last year. The report anticipates that the city’s GDP by year’s end will reach 12.6 per cent, a record for the past decade.
Experts have said the city’s economic growth saw equal contributions from its key sectors: services, industry and development investment.

The services sector, which grew by 14.1 per cent and accounts for 52.6 per cent of the city’s total GDP.
Capital mobilised by banks hit $28 billion, up 73.3 per cent over the same period last year. Total loan balances hit $22 billion, up 67.6 per cent.
In addition to the foreseeable development of the city’s retail sales and import/export sectors, tourism boasted an impressive performance of $1.2 billion in revennue, accounting for 98 per cent of the year’s target and up 27 per cent over last year.
The first 11 months of this year also saw a large increase in the industrial sector, earning $19.3 billion and up 13.5 per cent over last year. Of that, foreign capital grew by 18.1 per cent followed by private capital at 13.5 per cent.

The city’s agricultural sector was gradually changing its focus to urban and ecological agriculture, a move aimed at reducing labour intensity in agriculture while meeting rising demand for food and eco products, said experts.
As of November, Ho Chi Minh City had granted 16,965 trade certificates to newly-established enterprises with a total chartered capital of $7.9 billion, a three-fold increase over last year.
As one of the nation’s top FDI earners, Ho Chi Minh City attracted $1.9 billion since the beginning of 2007, $1.26 billion of which was poured into real estate.
Despite the city’s robust economic growth, a number of chronic problems were still hindering its economic development, experts stressed.

At a session to review the city’s socio-economic situation in 2007, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that economic restructuring remained problematic, skilled and specialised human resources were still far less than demand and administrative reforms had yet to be fully implemented.
“The city’s traffic jams, flooding and social evils are escalating and need to be resolved,” he said.
Earlier this month, committee vice chairman Nguyen Thanh Tai said that accelerating GDP growth next year and maintaining the city’s 20 per cent GDP contribution would be the most important tasks; while poverty reduction, education development, infrastructure improvement and transparency would also be prioritised.