Ho Chi Minh City economy expands 3.82%, public funding slows

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest economic hub, posted a 3.82% economic growth rate in this year’s first half, while disbursement of public investments was just 17% of the year target, official figures show.

HCMC Department of Planning and Investment director Le Thi Huynh Mai, who made the results public on Wednesday, said the megacity’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the first half of 2022 shows a post-pandemic rebound against deep declines in the third and fourth quarters of 2021, which were minus 24.97% and minus 11.64%, respectively.

However, the January-June period saw the city’s disbursement of public investments only at 17% of the year target, with more than VND5,900 billion (254 million) implemented from a total VND44,000 billion (almost $1.9 billion) public funding set earlier.

She said this low disbursement rate resulted from pandemic impacts last year, which have caused difficulties to resuming public-funded projects in the economic hub.

The city’s commerce and service sector increased by 4.83% in the period; agriculture, forestry and fisheries upped 1.77%; construction and manufacturing rose by 2.23%.

In June alone, the commerce and service sector expanded up to 41%. For the 6 months, the sector increased by 6.2% over the same period, to a value of VND556,488 billion ($23.95 billion).

"The positive growth results show economic recovery in the city, with commerce and service taking the lead," Mai added.