Business News

Foreign investment into HCMC more than doubled in the first four months of 2026, while new business registrations surged, as Vietnam’s commercial hub accelerated reforms to achieve double-digit economic growth. Hoang Vu Thanh, director of HCMC’s Department of Finance, said at a meeting on May 8 that the city had attracted nearly US$3.3 billion in foreign investment since the start of the year, skyrocketing 127.1% year-on-year and equivalent to about 30.2% of its full-year target.

HCMC is aiming to collect VND1 quadrillion in budget revenue this year while accelerating administrative reforms, infrastructure investment, foreign direct investment inflows, and growth drivers from consumption, tourism, industry, and trade. The HCMC People’s Committee has issued a directive urging departments and local authorities to swiftly roll out key measures and urgent solutions aimed at supporting the city’s double digit economic growth target for 2026.

HCMC reported strong budget revenue growth in the first four months of 2026, with collections exceeding VND328 trillion, equivalent to 40.6% of the annual target and up nearly 19% year-on-year. The results reflected a positive recovery in business and production activities as well as investment inflows into the city. Domestic revenue continued to play the leading role, with estimated collections reaching VND251.9 trillion, up 23.1% year-on-year and accounting for 76.8% of total balanced budget revenue, according to the HCMC Statistics Office.

Vietnam’s plan to develop one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice has reached just over 3% of its 2026 target, far below expectations. The program aims to roll out nearly 470,000 hectares this year. However, only 14,766 hectares have been implemented so far, including 11,430 hectares in the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop, according to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Vietnam’s seafood export revenue in 2026 could rise by around US$1 billion from the 2025 level of approximately US$11.3 billion if current growth is sustained and bottlenecks are addressed, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). From the beginning of 2026 to date, aquaculture has recorded favorable conditions, with seafood export value estimated at nearly US$4 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year.

The timeline has been recently shared by Tran Quang Bao, director of the Forestry and Forest Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, regarding progress in finalizing the legal framework for forest carbon absorption and storage services. The ministry is currently coordinating efforts to draft a decree governing these services, aimed at establishing a comprehensive legal corridor for localities and forest owners to implement in practice.

Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery exports in the first four months of the year amounted to an estimated US$23.04 billion, up 5.4% year-on-year, with Asia accounting for 44.1% of the total, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. In April alone, export revenue was put at US$6.05 billion, down 3.8% from the previous month and 0.8% from a year earlier.

Fresh foreign investment approvals in Vietnam in the year to April 27 had soared 32% against the same period in 2025 to US$18.24 billion, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Finance. Newly registered capital accounted for the largest share, totaling US$12.15 billion across 1,249 projects and continuing to dominate inflows.