HCM CITY — HCM City cannot achieve its growth target of 8.4 – 8.7 per cent this year at the current rate, a meeting of city authorities on Tuesday to review the socio-economic situation heard.

“In the first eight months of the year the [growth rate] was around 7.76 per cent and we need a breakthrough in the remaining months to achieve the targeted 8.4 – 8.7 per cent,” the chairman of the city People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, said.

He solicited ideas to achieve it.

He strongly criticised certain sectors like industry and agriculture for filing inaccurate growth reports.

Industrial growth had been claimed to be 7.5 per cent but the actual figure was only 7.19 per cent, while agriculture’s claim of 6.5 per cent was also incorrect, he said.

He said he plans to work with taxation, banking and industry officials to find comprehensive measures for growth this year.

“The taxation department will have to increase its support to new enterprises and help households upgrade into enterprises to improve budget collections.

“The finance and planning and investment departments and related authorities need to review and scrap all unnecessary and cumbersome procedures to save enterprises time and costs.

“The Department of Planning and Investment should organise a seminar to clarify the mechanisms for handing over land for build-transfer projects and for public tenders.

“The Department of Natural Resources and Environment should co-operate with the neighbouring province of Bình Dương to stop pollution of the Ba Bò Canal.”

Trần Trọng Tuấn, director of the construction department, reported that in the one month since the issue of construction licences resumed – with new regulations in place after the old regulations expired this year -- illegal construction has significantly reduced.

“Over 560 construction licences were granted last month. However, districts 2, 7, 9, 10, Bình Thạnh and Nhà Bè have not granted any licences. The department will work with them to resolve difficulties.”

In the first eight months of this year some 26,614 new companies with a registered capital of VNĐ359 trillion (US$16 billion) were licensed, 13.1 per cent and 82.9 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

FDI increased by 1.57 times to nearly $3.23 billion.

The city’s revenues increased by 11.47 per cent to VNĐ224 trillion ($10 billion).

Job creation, vocational training and support for the poor have been done efficiently to ensure social welfare, the meeting heard.

Exports were up 13.6 per cent at around US$22.8 billion.

The city’s four key industries -- engineering and automation; electronics; chemicals, rubber and plastics; and food processing -- continued to perform strongly, growing at 11.8 per cent. — VNS