Ho Chi Minh City Eyes Infrastructure-Led Growth as Regional Economic Hub

Ho Chi Minh City will implement a range of tasks and solutions to enhance business competitiveness, promote sustainable exports, expand markets, and enable local businesses to engage more deeply in global value and supply chains. The move is also expected to contribute to the development of Ho Chi Minh City as a regional hub for trade, logistics and international economic integration. The city targets the completion of 255km of urban railways by 2030 and will continue to invest in seven additional lines with a view to raising the total length to 532km by 2035. As ring roads, metro lines and airport connectivity infrastructure are gradually completed in the coming years, demand for housing, industrial property, retail space and hotels is expected to expand beyond traditional urban centres. As trade expands, systemic bottlenecks across transport networks, warehousing, ports, border gates, and industrial zones are becoming more apparent. Experts emphasise the need to shift from a fragmented, project-by-project approach toward strategic management structured around trade corridors and integrated supply chains. Great reliance on the state budget and conventional bank lending could put considerable pressure on the financial system, making it necessary to develop new and sustainable sources of funding from both domestic and international capital markets. The rapid adoption put Vietnam ahead of Thailand and Indonesia and above the global average of about 25%, highlighting the speed at which EVs have gained ground in a market close to zero in 2020. Vietnam has emerged among the world’s 10 most improved real estate markets in terms of transparency during the 2024-26 period, according to the 2026 Global Real Estate Transparency Index released by global real estate services firm JLL. Under its one-party system, economic growth remains a paramount objective for Vietnam, with infrastructure investment serving as a crucial foundation. In its relations with China, deepening engagement in global value chains is vital for enhancing economic independence amidst supply chain diversification.