Hai made the statement at a meeting of the city Party Committee held in HCM City on Thursday to review the city’s economic and social performance in 2007 and outline its plan for 2008.

He stressed the city would focus on maintaining growth, improving growth quality and increasing economic efficiency to reach a per capita income of US$2,500 in 2008.

The city’s continued efforts in urban management, especially wih flooding, traffic and clean water supplies, and restoration of public order, as well as in its fight against crimes such as drug addiction, robbery and prostitution, would create a better life for residents.

Other issues at the top of the meeting’s agenda were the promotion of hunger eradication and poverty reduction programmes, the mobilisation of different economic sectors to develop health and education for the public and the reduction of traffic accidents and environmental pollution.

Hai said these efforts would improve local people’s daily living standards, and gradually integrate the city into the global community.

Administrative reforms, anti-corruption fighting, more cost-effective city management and global economic integration should be sped up to develop the local economy, he said.

City officials mapped out plans to develop the economy, focusing on high quality services in finance, banking, real estate, stock trading and insurance.

For industrial development, the city will continue focusing on key industries such as mechanical engineering, information technology, electronics, farm products and seafood processing.

The city will build more specialised industrial zones and high tech parks, and upgrade technologies and equipment to boost industrial productivity and quality.

Development incentives

The city will continue offering incentives for land usage and rentals, preferential taxes and simplified licensing procedures to attract investment from domestic and foreign sources. This will boost the competitiveness of local businesses and industrial enterprises on the world market.

Priority investment will be given to small- and medium-sized enterprises because they have increasingly contributed to the local economy’s growth.

The city’s investment for development projects is expected to account for 35 per cent of the locality’s GDP growth rate.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding from foreign countries will be used to build and upgrade transport infrastructures—metro lines, overpasses, roads and bridges—to ease traffic congestion.

Some ODA funds will be spent on developing social programmes in health, education and training, environmental protection, food hygiene and safety, treatment of drug addiction, and reintegration of HIV/AIDS carriers into the community.

City officials predict a GDP growth rate of 12.6 per cent for 2007, the highest level in the last decade. Per capita income is likely to reach $2,180.

The city’s development investment in 2007 is estimated at $5.3 billion, an increase of 26.6 per cent compared with last year. Of that amount, $2.5 billion came from foreign direct investment (FDI) capital.

Source: VietnamNew.