HCMC – Economic recovery is an urgent task for HCMC after the coronavirus pandemic is contained, the city’s chairman, Nguyen Thanh Phong, said at a seminar this morning, May 5.

With the pandemic causing significant damage to most industries, the city’s economic growth rate in the first quarter of 2020 was only 0.42%, way below the 7.64% recorded in the same period last year and the lowest since 1986. Phong said the economic downturn in HCMC, which is Vietnam’s economic hub, would significantly affect the economic growth of the entire country. “Therefore, mobilizing all resources and taking all possible steps to help the city’s economy rebound is an urgent task at the moment,” he stressed. Phong spoke highly of businesses’ efforts to survive and overcome difficulties including the shortages of input materials and capital, lower consumption demand and shrinking markets during the pandemic. He also emphasized the need for support from the Government, without which many socioeconomic problems would arise, such as bankruptcy, a rising unemployment rate and crimes. The city will focus on restoring key industries including food processing and manufacturing, electronic products, retail, transport and warehousing, finance and banking and insurance. The municipal government will also create favorable conditions for the recovery of the hardest-hit sectors such as tourism, catering services and hospitality. Phong stated that the city is striving to help businesses and citizens affected by the Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, to easily access stimulus packages, improve market reach to boost exports and develop new products to adapt to changes in the market. Citing Prime Minister Nuyen Xuan Phuc, who called for the transformation of challenges into opportunities, the city’s chairman called on experts, businesses and researchers to give appropriate advice for the city to quickly revive the economy, expand production and trade and seek new opportunities after the pandemic ends.