Positive changes are being recorded in Ho Chi Minh City’s economy,with good growth rate in the trade and service sector and signs ofrecovery in industry production.

The assessment wasgiven during a recent conference held by the Municipal People’sCommittee to discuss the socio-economic, cultural, defence and securityissues that faced the city in November and looking ahead to the lastmonth of the year.

Participants at the event notedthat total turnover of the city retail sector in November is estimatedto reach 54.9 trillion VND, up 4.3 percent over the previous month and12.2 percent year on year.

The result has pushed the11 month figure to 548.5 trillion VND (25.77 billion USD), a rise of12.3 percent over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the city posted a 5 percent month-on-month rise in itsNovember industry production index, recording a year-on-year increase of6.1 percent for 11 months. Construction materials, food processing andmetal production are among sectors that saw strong growth in the month.

Recovery has notably been seen among businesseses,with the number of newly-established firms increasing by 7 percent overthe same period last year and the number of dissolved companies down 3.6percent.

According to Dao Thi Huong Lan, head ofthe municipal Department of Finance, budget collection is anotherpositive aspect that the city has seen. In November, Ho Chi Minh Citycollected about 204.2 trillion VND (9.6 billion USD) for the budget,fulfilling 86.2 percent of the estimate, up 8.6 percent year on year.

However, attendees also pointed out socio-economicdifficulties that the city faces, including a 39 percent drop inregistered capital of newly-founded enterprises.

Meanwhile, export turnover has seen 12.9 percent fall year-on-year.Except for earnings from crude oil, total exports of the city inNovember are standing at 1.65 billion USD, down 3.1 percent overNovember and 7.7 percent over the same period in 2012.

In the first 11 months of this year, Ho Chi Minh City earned 24billion USD from exports, a decrease of 7.3 percent year on year.

The municipal People’s Committee held that the reason behind the fallwas a decrease in crude oil export, which saw a 13 percent decline involume and 3.8 percent in value.

Besides, price dropof some export earners, especially agro-forestry and fisheriesproducts, also one of the negative factors, it said.

In December, the key tasks that the city has defined to fulfil its 2013target include exerting more efforts in investment disbursement,speeding up progress of state-invested projects, especially key ones.-VNA