HCMC INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH
HO CHI MINH CITY ECONOMIC OVERVIEW
AND POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT
Du Phuoc Tan (M.Sc.)
Head of External Cooperation Department of IER
20 June 2007
ROLE OF HO CHI MINH CITY IN THE COUNTRY
HCMC is an Economic, Scientific, Educational and Cultural Hub
The Largest and Most Dynamic Economic Centre of the Country
ROLE OF HO CHI MINH CITY IN THE COUNTRY

Population in Ho Chi Minh City 6.42 million
persons in 2006 (whole country 84 million persons)
+ Accounting for only 7.6% population and over 6%
of labor force in the country, HCMC accounts for:
 + 21-22% of national GDP
 + 30% of national industrial output value
 + 25.1% of national value of goods and services
 + 36.7% of national export turnover
 + 21.0% of total investment.
ROLE OF HO CHI MINH CITY IN THE
SOUTHERN FOCAL ECONOMIC ZONE (SFEZ)
+ HCMC accounted for
over 80% value added of
service of the whole
region (in 2005);
+ 55.3% export turnover
of the whole region;
65.4% import turnover of
the whole region;
+ 46.9% value added of
industrial value of the
whole region
BÌNH
(This is a dynamic region)
SOME DEVELOPMENT TARGETS –
GDP GROWTH RATE (%)

Area:
2,095 km2

Population:
 Of which:
GDP:
6.4 million
1.85 million (30%)
12.0 billion USD







Migrants
GDP growth rate:
12.2% per year
GDP per capita in 2005:
1,970 USD
Unemployment rate:
5.82 %
FDI inflow in 2006:
2.28 billion USD
Export:
13.7 billion USD
More than 76 Universities & Colleges with more than 380,000
students
SOME DEVELOPMENT TARGETS –
GDP GROWTH RATE (%)
GDP Growth Rate - HCMC and Vietnam
16.0
GDP Growth Rate
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0
HCMC
6.0
Vietnam
4.0
2.0
0.0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Year


GDP growth rate during 1996-2005:
 HCMC: 10.5%
 VN: 7.2%
GDP share of HCMC to the country keeps increasing
SOME DEVELOPMENT TARGETS –
GDP STRUCTURE (%)
GDP Structure (%)
Agriculture
1.2%
Service
51.1%
Industry and
construction
47.7%
INVESTMENT CAPITAL MOBILIZED –
INVESTMENT CAPITAL STRUCTURE (%)
Proportion of remaining budget for HCMC: 26% and only
responding to 25-30% investment of the city.
HCMC mobilized many investment sources:
HIFU (HCMC Investment Fund for Urban Development)
Urban Bond issued
BT (land area exchanged to build infrastructure)
Extra-fees (water, electricity)
Equitization
Structure of investment capital (2001-2006):
+ State
= 33,3% (Whole country 57,6%)
+ Private
= 48,3% (Whole country 26%)
+ FDI
= 18,4% (Whole country 16,4%)
Foreign direct investment - capital
Foreign Direct Investment (Million USD)
2500
2287
2000
1500
1000
500
907
482 577
776
963
224
0
2000
2002 2004
2005
2006
1 2001
2 2002
3
4
5
6
7
Year
Source: HCMC Statistical Office
Foreign direct investment - Ranked
In 2006
Country
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Singapore
South Korea
Japan
USA.
B.V. Island
Source: HCMC Statistical Office
Projects
148
402
207
416
242
134
87
Capital
(million $)
3,387
1,873
1,575
1,298
1,147
670
630
EXPORT
Million USD
13,695
14,000
12,471
12,000
9,816
10,000
7,349
8,000
5,900
6,246
6,390
2000
2001
2002
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
Source: HCMC Statistical Office
2003
2004
2005
2006
POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT
Vietnam accesses to WTO
Incentives for reform of laws and
regulations (Investment Environment)
Public administration reform
(transparency and publicity
improvement)
Technical and social infrastructure
investment (supported by government to
enterprises)
Export market expansion (150 WTO
members accounting for over 95% total
trade turnover in the worlds)
POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT
HCMC main development targets to the year 2010



City GDP growth rate (2006-2010): 12% per year.
For economic sector:
 Agriculture:
5.0%
 Industry and construction:
12.0%
 Service:
12.0%
For economic structure:

Agriculture sector (0.9%),
 Industry and construction (48.7%)
 Service (50.4%).
POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT
HCMC main development targets to the year 2010

Population:
7.5 million (*)

GDP growth rate:
12.2% per year

GDP per capita in 2010:
3,000 USD

Unemployment rate:
<5.0 %

Skilled labors:
60%

Public transport (Bus):
10% demand

Housing area:
14 m2/person

For health care:
10 doctors/10,000 pers

Completing educational compulsory of senior secondary school
to the year 2008.
POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT
9 groups of service development
1.
Financial, banking and insurance
2.
Trade
3.
Transportation and logistics
4.
Telecommunications
5.
Real estate
6.
Consultant, scientific & technological research
7.
Tourist
8.
Healthcare
9.
Education and training
POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT
Solutions for risks reduction
1. Infrastructure Development
2. Education and Training system Reform
3. Public administration reform
(Addressing bureaucracy)
In general, the stable politics and government consistency
of reform are good environment to invest to HCMC
Thank you for your attention