At Vissan company in HCM City, which produces fresh meat and processed foods. — Photo courtesy of sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY — Helping businesses revive production and trading is one of the important tasks that HCM City’s industry and trade authorities will focus on in 2021.

According to the city Department of Industry and Trade, the city’s index of industrial production (IIP) grew by 6 per cent in the first two months of the year, despite a fall of 24.6 per cent in February as business establishments closed for the Lunar New Year.

The recovery in industrial production, retail sales and import-export activities has been due to the Government’s effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic and programmes to revive the economy, said Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, the department’s director.

The department has also implemented programmes to support enterprises, stimulate consumption, connect producers and distributors, stabilise the market, and ensure consumer demand is fully met, he said.

To ensure the revival continues, the department will organise more trade promotion programmes, make efforts to connect suppliers and distributors of goods and enhance supply chain linkages in supporting industries.

It will continue a programme that connects businesses with banks and enables them to get preferential loans.

It will recommend measures to support firms involved in the city’s key industrial products in 2021-25 and those whose products have won the HCM City Gold Brand Awards.

Implementing the annual market stabilisation programme and trade promotions to help businesses expand their share of the domestic market is also in the department’s plans this year, as is working closely with business groups to promptly mitigate difficulties faced by their members.

This month the department organised a meeting between businesses and the city administration to discuss the former’s problems and solutions.

It is implementing a programme to promote rapid growth of the city’s key economic sectors that have high added-value, supporting industries and four key industrial sectors in 2021-25.

The programme also seeks to help develop the city into the country and region’s main shopping hub, and improve its services infrastructure to ensure it retains its position as the main centre for port operations, logistics and export services in the south.

It has urged the People's Committee to help expand a centre for displaying the city’s major supporting industrial products so that small and medium-sized enterprises can introduce their products and production capacity to local and foreign partners.

It said the expansion of the centre would facilitate regular interaction between sellers and buyers of supporting industry products, making it easier for foreign investors to access the Vietnamese supply chain, helping promote the country’s supporting industries.

It also urged the People’s Committee to seek approval from the People's Council and pass regulations on loan interest support for the investment stimulus programme.

Businesses are very keen to participate in the city's investment stimulus programme, especially those in the supporting sectors, according to the department. — VNS