Hanoi steps up economic restructuring to hit growth target

Macro-economic stability and economic restructuring are among the Hanoi city government’s focuses to ensure its GDP growth target 1.3 times higher than the national average, according to the Hanoi People’s Committee.

Overview of online meeting of the Hanoi People's Committee .

Hanoi continues to encourage the business community to join the city’s efforts in restructuring the agriculture sector with a greater concentration on IT and technology application, stated the committee in an announcement on May 11.

While the city has put the Covid-19 pandemic under control, it has led to severe consequences on the city’s economic performance in April, such as declines in state budget revenue, exports and disbursement of public investment compared to the previous month.

Despite these difficulties, some major economic indicators have posted good performance during the January-April period, including foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction of nearly US$1 billion; 7,780 newly-established enterprises with registered capital of VND116.86 trillion (US$5.01 billion), down 12% in the number but up 37% in value year-on-year.

Notably, Hanoi remained in ninth place among the country’s top 10 business-friendly localities.

The municipal People's Committee plans to tighten regular spending by cutting overseas working trips, social – cultural activities and conferences from now until June.

With public investment being a key solution to speed up economic recovery, the committee requested relevant agencies to push for faster disbursement in funding for state-funded infrastructure projects.

Heads of municipal departments of Planning and Investment, Planning and Architecture, project management units, districts and communes, among others, are responsible for addressing concerns of investors during the implementation process of the projects.

According to the committee, Hanoi would create the best conditions for enterprises to carry out housing projects, including the construction of new residential areas, low-cost and commercial housing; support traders to export medical equipment, wooden and ceramic products; organize goods supply – demand matching programs to boost domestic consumption.

The committee requested the local authorities to simplify and remove obsolete administrative procedures for the benefits of enterprises and citizens.

Regarding promotional activities, Hanoi is planning to hold an investment promotion conference by the end of June or early July, while a conference promoting tourism is also on the cards.