Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, speaks at a meeting in the city last Saturday. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Challenges such as bureaucratic obstacles, land clearance issues and project implementation delays must be overcome for HCM City to reach its growth target of 7.5-8 per cent for 2024, said a city official.

Speaking at a meeting last Saturday, Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said that measures to achieve this growth target included speeding up public spending, enhancing public services, streamlining administrative reform, controlling inflation and stabilising the macro-economy.

The city would particularly focus on expediting public spending, boosting consumption and resolving the challenges faced by businesses in 2024, he said.

Over the years HCM City has seen rapid urbanisation and economic development, leading to increased demand for public services and infrastructure.

However, the city has faced challenges in effectively disbursing public funds, resulting in delays in crucial projects and hindered economic growth.

As of January 5, the city’s public investment disbursement reached nearly VNĐ44 trillion, only 64 per cent of the full-year target.

In addition to speeding up public spending, the city will focus on developing high-quality human resources and promoting digital transformation to foster digital governance, a digital economy, and a smart city.

It will continue to create the most favourable conditions for business activities, according to Mãi.

It will also review and adjust its general planning, including land use plans until 2040, as well as land prices, housing development plans, and the development and management of social housing until 2030.

Lê Thị Huỳnh Mai, director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said speeding up public spending would be a significant factor for the city to reach its growth target for 2024.

She recommended the city improve the capacity of department and branch leaders in capital disbursement, monitor progress regularly, accelerate site clearance, shorten investment procedure time, and be flexible in capital adjustment arrangements.

Dr. Trần Du Lịch, chairman of the Advisory Council implementing Resolution 98, said meeting the growth target of 7.5 - 8 per cent was challenging but attainable with effective measures.

He recommended the city make efforts to recover the real estate market and continue restructuring state-owned enterprises.

The city must focus on recovering the real estate market which is only frozen in the high-end segment, while there is a lack of more affordable products, according to Lịch.

To boost the city’s exports, Nguyễn Ngọc Hòa, chairman of the HCM City Business Association (HUBA), recommended instead of focusing solely on four large markets, HCM City should pay attention to other open markets like India, South America and Middle Eastern countries.

The city’s economy is expected to rebound in the second quarter and achieve 8 per cent growth in 2024, according to the HCM City Macroeconomic Report: 2023 Results and 2024 Forecast, which was released recently.

Earlier the city had set up an ambitious goal to achieve a growth rate of 7.5-8 per cent and attain 100 per cent of State budget revenue targets in 2024.

In 2023, the city’s growth was only 5.81 per cent, significantly down from over 9 per cent in 2022.

Total retail sales of goods and consumer services in 2023 increased by 10.8 per cent, and total tourism revenue increased by 22 per cent over 2022.

International visitors to the city increased by 44.3 per cent and the number of newly established businesses increased by 10 per cent.

The city’s economic recovery will continue to face challenges in 2024 caused by escalating global turmoil, experts have warned.

The real estate, stock and bond markets will continue facing obstacles this year despite a number of Government measures.

Some enterprises have been reporting a lack of export orders due to weak global demand. — VNS