Ho Chi Minh City - 50 years of continuous innovation and creation

Many new ways are being replicated

Ho Chi Minh City has achieved many great achievements in the development process. Photo: Thac Hieu

Throughout its 50-year journey of construction and development, Ho Chi Minh City has always strived to make breakthroughs, taking the lead in piloting many new ways of doing things, creating many great values ​​that have been replicated throughout the country. In other words, Ho Chi Minh City is the “cradle” of the innovation process, daring to think and act for the common good. This is clearly seen throughout the development journey of Ho Chi Minh City and the country.

The late 70s and early 80s were a challenging period for Ho Chi Minh City. The economy declined, and the GRDP growth rate was only about 2.7% per year. However, even during that difficult period, the city proactively sought and innovated from practice to remove constraints, paving the way for national renewal.

We can mention the process of "jumping the fence" to go to the Mekong Delta to buy rice at a higher price than the subsidized price, and transfer it to the city to take care of food security for nearly 4 million people in the pre-renovation period of Ho Chi Minh City.

When this method was widely applied, farmers produced more, Vietnam went from a country with food shortages to a top food exporter in the world. A series of agricultural and aquatic enterprises were encouraged to export, earning foreign currency to import raw materials for factories that were halting production and business, helping production develop.

Aerial photo of a fishing port in Saigon, 1976. Photo: AFP

Director of the Institute of Party History, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics Nguyen Danh Tien said that at that time, there were two tasks set for the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City: to provide food for the people and to revive production. Therefore, "breaking the fence" in buying and selling food not only cared for the people's lives but also broke the isolation with the "blocking rivers and banning markets" at that time. The right action of Ho Chi Minh City was recognized by the Central Government.

Or to develop high technology, Ho Chi Minh City has "looked far and wide", improved the quality of production, reduced labor intensity, invested in science and technology, established the High-Tech Park in Thu Duc City, Quang Trung Software Park. All of this creates a vibrant atmosphere of innovation, helping Vietnam's economy to break through.

A corner of Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Park

Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone (District 7)

Ho Chi Minh City's contributions are not only economic and financial, but equally important are its institutions. According to National Assembly Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Hoang Ngan, since the 1990s, the National Assembly has passed the Law on Private Enterprises, the Law on Companies, the Ordinance on Banks, Credit Cooperatives, and Financial Companies... These things originated from Ho Chi Minh City's pilot projects.

Ho Chi Minh City is also the first place to equitize state-owned enterprises, the city also formed the first foreign exchange trading center, contributing to creating a dynamic foreign exchange market. The Central Government chose Ho Chi Minh City along with Da Nang as the international financial center of Vietnam to develop from these solid foundations.

Source: Ho Chi Minh City Statistical Office

Similarly, regulations related to policies to attract foreign investment, the Law on Investment in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), and issuance of local government bonds also originate from Ho Chi Minh City... And up to now, in the development process, Ho Chi Minh City has not stopped piloting, innovating, and creating.

Former Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, former Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Pham Phuong Thao commented that Ho Chi Minh City is a place with many models in the fields of economics, finance, banking, where socialization is strongly implemented in the fields of infrastructure investment, culture, education, health, sports; there are many steps forward in administrative reform and proactively proposing to build an urban government model so that management is suitable to the characteristics and nature of a special urban area. From the city's proposal, Resolution 54/2017 and Resolution 98/2023 of the National Assembly were issued, creating conditions for the city to have more specific mechanisms, promote worthy development and contribute more to the whole country.

The numbers are growing exponentially.

Ho Chi Minh City center. Photo: Thac Hieu

It can be said that the greatest specialty of Ho Chi Minh City in the past 50 years is its dynamism, creativity, daring to think and act for the common good, always finding new ways and methods to save itself; breaking through, for the whole country, with the whole country.

Ho Chi Minh City's economy always achieves high growth rates, economic scale expands, economic structure shifts in the right direction, social resources are promoted, and Ho Chi Minh City's position in the country has been affirmed.

Former Head of the Central Economic Commission, Former Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Pham Chanh Truc commented that it is the breakthrough thinking, daring to do things differently and acting from reality that has helped Ho Chi Minh City become a typical example in the innovation process, helping the city's economy overcome the stagnant period.

FDI attraction in Ho Chi Minh City increased sharply after Vietnam opened its economy. Source: Ho Chi Minh City Statistical Office

If in 10 years (1975-1985), GRDP only increased by an average of 2.7%/year, then in the early stages of renovation (1986-2010), GRDP increased by an average of 10.5%/year, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the few cities in the country that has grown by double digits continuously for a long period of time.

In the first decade of the 21st century, Ho Chi Minh City has made steady progress. In the period 2001-2005, the city's economy grew by an average of 11%/year, and in the period 2006-2010, it grew by 11.2%/year, equal to 1.5 times the general growth rate of the whole country. Since then, Ho Chi Minh City has continuously developed. If in 2005, the city's GRDP ratio compared to the whole country was 19.7%, in 2010 it was 21.3%. The budget revenue ratio compared to the total national budget revenue in 2005 was 26.5% and increased to 27.8% in 2010.

According to Mr. Le Huu Phuoc - University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University), the 4 resolutions of the Politburo on city development (Resolution 01/1982, Resolution 20/2002, Resolution 16/2012, Resolution 31/2022) have fully demonstrated the increasingly important role and position of the city in all fields, especially the economy.

Me Linh Square Area, District 1 (January 2025)

If Resolution 01 and Resolution 20 only determined that Ho Chi Minh City would "gradually become an industrial, service, scientific and technological center of the Southeast Asian region", "contribute increasingly to the Southern region and the whole country", then with Resolution 16, the city was elevated to "a special urban area, leading the way in industrialization and modernization", "a locomotive, a driving force, with great attraction and influence of the Southern key economic region", "gradually becoming a major center of economics, finance, trade, science and technology of the country and the Southeast Asian region".

By Resolution 31, the position of Ho Chi Minh City has become even more important as it both “maintains its role as a major economic center of the country” and “soon becomes an economic, financial, and service center of Southeast Asia and Asia, with global competitiveness”.

Obviously, the role and position of the city named after Uncle Ho compared to the whole country is increasingly affirmed, as the leading locality in the country's economic growth, worthy of the title of heroic city - Mr. Tran Hoang Ngan emphasized.

Experts discuss building a financial center in Vietnam. Photo: Tinh Ha

Former Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Huynh Dam also affirmed that after the Great Victory of Spring 1975, Ho Chi Minh City can be proud to have overcome countless difficulties and challenges, achieved great results, of historical significance, and become the locomotive and growth engine of the region and the whole country. "Solidarity, proactiveness, creativity and breakthrough" are the factors that have created the proud achievements of the city in the 50 years of national reunification.

In the past 5 years, the city has focused its investment resources on infrastructure and sought to “untie” institutions; the city has also made the most of special mechanisms to realize its double-digit growth aspirations, as well as deploy many new development spaces such as: Can Gio super port, International Financial Center, and a series of other strategic projects.

With a series of infrastructure projects that have been, are being and will be implemented, it is possible to imagine a "large construction site" about to take shape in Ho Chi Minh City, and then, together with the merger of provinces, will create a new urban area, a new development space, giving wings to Ho Chi Minh City to accelerate strongly. In other words, the breakthrough achievements, leading the way in the past time are the inspiration for Ho Chi Minh City to continue to pioneer into a new era - the era of wealth and prosperity.

Tinh Ha

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-50-nam-khong-ngung-doi-moi-kien-tao-post410177.html