A factory in HCM City. The southern economic hub targets 6.5 per cent growth of its index of industrial production (IIP) in 2024. —VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HCM CITY — HCM City’s Department of Industry and Trade will deploy a number of measures to enable it to always stay ahead of trends, helping the city maintain its role as the economic locomotive and take the lead in innovation in the country, according to the department.

The department targets 6.5 per cent growth of its index of industrial production (IIP), 11 per cent growth in retail sales of goods and services, and export turnover of businesses passing through the city's border gates to increase by 10 per cent.

According to a report at a meeting held late last week in HCM City to review industrial production and trade in 2023 and set tasks for this year, the sector recorded a strong recovery last year, with the index of industrial production up by 4.3 per cent, higher than the national average. The city’s total retail sales of goods and consumer services in 2023 increased by 10.8 per cent, and total tourism revenue rose by 22 per cent over 2022.

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

Tourism revenue rose 25 per cent from 2019 (before COVID-19) to VNĐ160 trillion (US$6.56 billion), the highest in five years.

Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, the department’s director, said businesses would continue to face difficulties this year, such as lower demand in the country’s key export markets, stricter access to bank loans, raising input costs, unstable global supply chain, high logistics costs and others.

In order to realise the goals set out for 2024, the department will focus on developing the high-tech industrial sector, supporting industries, and the four key industrial sectors comprehensively, he said.

It would pay greater attention to promoting key industrial products and those with potential in 2021-25 to foster development, and encourage and instruct enterprises to enhance digital transformation and green production.

It will step up export promotion to help firms expand markets, especially to countries with which Việt Nam has free trade agreements.

The department would also seek to boost the development of e-commerce to meet consumption trends, and develop the logistics sector into a key service sector.

Other plans included strengthening links between producers, distributors and retailers, bolstering connections between businesses and banks to make it easy for enterprises to access bank loans, and setting up a commodity exchange and large-scale supply and distribution chains with the participation of leading retailers and logistics firms, farms and enterprises, he said.

Nguyễn Văn Dũng, deputy chairman of the City People's Committee, appreciated efforts made by the department and businesses last year.

Expecting businesses to continue to face difficulties this year, he asked the department to understand the operational situation of enterprises so as to propose measures and to focus resources to help solve their difficulties (if any) in a timely manner.

He urged the department to implement efficiently the investment stimulus policy for the industrial sector and supporting industries and continue to foster trade cooperation with other cities and provinces to help firms expand consumption markets, ensure balance between goods supply and demand, and stable prices.

The city's industry and trade sector needs to improve its forecasting capacity to raise its management efficiency and better support the business community, he said. — VNS