HCMC – HCMC collected VND947 billion for the State budget each day in March, dipping by 31% year-on-year and accounting for only 57.9% of the target, set at VND1.63 trillion, due to the coronavirus pandemic, HCMC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said at a web conference between the central Government and the ministries and localities today, April 10.
In the January-March period, the city’s budget collection totaled VND88.2 trillion, down 8.6% against the year-ago figure.
The growth of a number of sectors, especially the service sector and various industries, was way below their targets, Phong said.
Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has taken a heavy toll on the country and especially the city, he noted.
The city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in January-March edged up by 0.42% year-on-year.
Phong attributed the low GRDP growth to the poor performance of the service sector. The service sector, which was hit hardest by Covid-19, contracted 1.2% year-on-year while it makes up a large part of the city’s GRDP, at 60.6%.
Besides this, international tourist arrivals in HCMC plummeted by 42.2% year-on-year, while its industrial production index inched down by 1%, the local media reported.
The service and manufacturing sectors account for a combined 79.3% of the city’s GRDP, so their negative performance put a crimp on the city’s GRDP growth over the first three months of the year.
The number of newly registered enterprises in the first quarter of 2020 dropped by 15.7% year-on-year, Phong stated, adding that over 6,500 firms had dissolved or suspended their operations.
The city attracted a mere US$1.05 billion in foreign investment in January-March, plunging by 33% year-on-year.
When the disease is contained, the city will take various steps to promote the growth of various sectors to revive its economy, Phong confirmed.
