Despite the outbreak of the COVID-19, the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of Ho Chi Minh City in the first six months of the year still increased by 5.46% over the same period last year.

The above information has just been announced by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Statistics. In which, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries decreased by 0.48%, the industry and construction sector increased by 3.58%, the trade and service sector increased by 5.86%.

The growth rate in this period is much higher than the estimated increase of 1.02% in the first 6 months of 2020. But this is still the second lowest growth rate of Ho Chi Minh City in the past 10 years.

Regarding the economic structure in the first six months of the year, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector accounted for 0.6%, the industry and construction sector accounted for 22.2%, the trade and service sector accounted for 63.6 %. The economic structure of Ho Chi Minh City continues to shift in the direction of reducing the proportion of agriculture and industry - construction, increasing the proportion of the service sector.

In which, the industry contributed 0.8% to the overall growth of the economy, with an increase of 4.16% over the same period. According to a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Department, this shows that the industry has shown signs of recovery. The index of industrial production (IIP) in the first six months is estimated to increase by 5.9% over the same period last year. In which, the processing and manufacturing industry grew the most.

For the 4 key industries, the electronics and mechanical industries grew the best with double digits, followed by the food processing, food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries.

The electronics manufacturing industry has grown significantly as businesses regularly apply new and modern technologies. High-tech products such as semiconductors, microchips, electronic boards, phone components, etc. have stable consumption markets. Besides, the use of many technology products during the implementation of social distancing also helps this industry to grow well.

Total retail sales of consumer goods and services in the six months is estimated at VND 541,685 billion, an increase of 7.3% over the same period last year. By industry, retail sales of goods contributed the most, accounting for 56% of total revenue. The remaining influential industries include accommodation, catering and travel services.

The total export turnover of goods in this period is estimated at USD 20,344 million, increased by 5.6% over the same period last year, mainly coming from the foreign-invested economic sector. Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department recorded 5 commodity groups with export value of billion USD, respectively: computers - electronic products - components, textiles, machinery - equipment - tools - spare parts and footwear products.

Kylie Nguyen