Ho Chi Minh City bets on next-generation industry to power growth
Post-merger now, Ho Chi Minh City has become Vietnam’s largest industrial hub, boasting 61 industrial parks, export processing zones, and clusters across the former regions
Processing fast consumption items for exports in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) ꦑ- Modern industry, innovation, and next-generation manufacturing must anchor Ho Chi Minh City’s ascent into a new era of growth, said Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Loc Ha.
Huge potential, structural bottlenecks
Economists from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City noted that prior to its merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria – Vung Tau provinces, Ho Chi Minh City was all about light industry, high tech, and logistics services; Binh Duong led nationwide in manufacturing and supporting industries; while Ba Ria – Vung Tau specialised in heavy industry, petrochemicals, and seaports. Each had its strengths, but they were like solo acts with no band to back them up.
Post-merger now, Ho Chi Minh City has become Vietnam’s largest industrial hub, boasting 61 industrial parks, export processing zones, and clusters across the former regions. This creates a diverse industrial ecosystem with varied scales and strategic roles.
The city now drives over 30% of Vietnam’s manufacturing output, with seaports handling a massive 250 million tonnes a year, growing 8% yearly from 2020 to 2024. Foreign direct investment tops 90 billion USD, nearly half the nation’s total.
Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, flagged key constraints. Logistics costs, at 16–20% of product prices, way above regional averages. Scarce industrial land hampers large-scale, high-tech investment. Automation is stuck in the slow lane, with labour productivity at just 60% of advanced industrial cities. Outdated manufacturers are dragging their feet on digital transformation, green standards, and sustainability. US tariffs on Vietnamese exports are turning up the heat to innovate fast, boost quality, and stay competitive.
Next-generation industry as growth engine
A corner of Binh Duong Industrial Park in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)
For new Ho Chi Minh City to become a true southern industrial powerhouse, Do Thien Anh Tuan from the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management proposed a regional division of labour: former Ho Chi Minh City as an R&D, innovation, and tech commercialisation hub hosting research institutes, startups, industrial labs, and large data centres; former Binh Duong as a smart manufacturing base with next-generation industrial parks, supporting industries, semiconductors, precision mechanics, and automation; and former Ba Ria – Vung Tau as a logistics, heavy industry, and clean energy hub leveraging deep-water ports, gas-fired power plants, chemicals, and global logistics services.
Industrial development in Ho Chi Minh City must build first on existing strengths, particularly core sectors with the potential for tech-intensive, high value-added production, said Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trong from the Eastern International University.
To tackle bottlenecks and plan through 2030 with a 2050 vision, Trong advocated for next-generation industrial zones that are green, smart, and eco-friendly, integrated with urban development.
Transport infrastructure is critical to unlock growth. Ongoing projects like Ring Roads 3 and 4, the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway, and the Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai expressway will bolster supply chains, linking factories with ports and borders to lure more investors, he said.
Vice Chairman Ha stressed that overcoming current limitations demands tighter collaboration among the Government, academia, and businesses to drive breakthroughs.
Ho Chi Minh City is pushing for a next-gen industrial model rooted in high tech, smart manufacturing, green industry and a circular economy, all while leveling up value chains and creating an innovation-driven regional ecosystem, he added./.
By the end of 2024, Vietnam had nearly 74,000 active digital technology enterprises, up 10.1% year-on-year. Total revenue of the information and communications sector was estimated at 166.7 billion USD, an increase of 13.2% compared to 2023.
Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 3.85 million foreigners in the first half, a 44% surge year-on-year, alongside 18.3 million domestic tourists, up 7%. The influx generated nearly 117.94 trillion VND (4.53 billion USD) in revenue, a 27.3% yearly rise, putting the city nearly halfway to its annual target, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.
While the high-speed and low-latency nature of 5G offers a "bloodline" for data transmission in production systems, IoT provides the "nervous system" to connect devices, machinery, and sensors.
Ambassador Bui Van Nghi expressed Vietnam’s wish to launch negotiations on an FTA during Brazil’s term as Mercosur Chair, saying such a step would serve the practical interests of both sides while diversifying markets.
A working delegation from the Ministry of Construction led by Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van recently held separate bilateral talks with Chinese and Malaysian sides to bolster collaboration in construction and urban development to a deep and substantive fashion.
European investments are gravitating towards emerging sectors such as clean energy, high technology and logistics, with the aim of positioning Vietnam as a regional transhipment hub.
The new tax regime of India is a landmark reform that promises to generate profound changes in India’s business landscape and will directly affect Vietnamese investors, producers, and exporters in this market.
Two-way trade between Vietnam and Cambodia reached 10.1 billion USD last year, while the figure in the first eight months of the year was 7.98 billion USD, up 16.3% year-on-year.
All businesses are eligible to participate in the programme without undergoing any selection or review process. Enterprises can independently launch promotional campaigns with diverse and appealing content for customers and are allowed to apply maximum discounts of up to 100%.
Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) has boosted its 2025 GDP growth forecast for Vietnam to 7.5% from 6.9%, pointing to the economy’s resilience and dynamism despite tariff risks and uncertainties.
Spanning 8.4ha of gross floor area and rising to 30m, the package requires advanced steel–concrete solutions, synchronised execution and accelerated progress within 330 days.
Through this partnership, VinFast Philippines, a subsidiary of Vingroup JSC, one of Vietnam's largest conglomerates, will leverage on BDO's comprehensive suite of financial solutions including cash management, consumer banking, leasing, and insurance services and create tailored financing programmes for both retail and corporate customers.
Under the new system, passengers without checked luggage simply check in via VNeID or a kiosk, undergo facial recognition at security, and board by scanning their face. Those with baggage drop it at a counter before entering the same automated flow.
Vietnam values its international partnerships, including with the UK, Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang noted, urging UK companies, funds and financial institutions, and those from Europe and worldwide, to continue expanding investment, transferring know-how, sharing management experience and advancing green finance and technology to realise Vietnam’s sustainable development vision.
Vietnamese Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang expressed gratitude for the UK’s active role in supporting Vietnam’s efforts to draft a National Assembly resolution on creating an international financial centre. The City of London, he noted, provided pivotal insights and recommendations to shape the groundwork and development roadmap for this hub.
Vietnam is ready to deepen economic cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and other partners, embracing a strategy of “harmonised interests and shared risks” as it leverages its fast-growing economy and market of over 100 million people.
Tay Ninh, Nghe An and Quang Tri provinces have strategic locations and significant cooperation potential, said Nguyen Thi Thai Binh, Minister-Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy, expressing confidence that with creativity and determination, these provinces and their Korean partners will find ample opportunities for productive collaboration.
Jointly organised by the Vinexad National Trade Fair and Advertising JSC and Yorkers Exhibition Service Vietnam, the event features 1,200 booths of more than 650 exhibitors from 20 countries and territories, including Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, and the US.
Public investment should serve as a key driver of growth, acting as seed capital to catalyse and mobilise all social resources, thereby fostering economic expansion, creating jobs and livelihoods, and improving the material and spiritual well-being of the people, PM Pham Minh Chinh stated.
An official of the Foreign Trade Agency laid stress on the foundational role of rules of origin in international trade, highlighting the importance of capacity building for enforcement officers in the context of deep international integration.
