Business News

As of May 31, Vietnam had disbursed VND219.358 trillion in public investment funds, equivalent to 21.6% of the annual plan. While the disbursement rate was unchanged from the same period last year, the result came against a record public investment target of VND1.08 quadrillion for 2026. In absolute terms, the amount disbursed was nearly VND34.82 trillion higher than a year earlier.

Vietnam’s retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue reached an estimated VND3,185 trillion in the first five months of 2026, up 11.2% from a year earlier, according to the National Statistics Office. Retail sales of goods accounted for the largest share, contributing 75.9% of the total revenue at VND2,418.1 trillion. Sales of petroleum products increased 12.7% from a year earlier, while garment sales rose 10.2% and food and foodstuff sales climbed 9.6%.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A), including capital contributions, share purchases and equity stake acquisitions, brought US$2.33 billion in foreign investment into HCMC in the first five months of the year, accounting for more than 60% of total foreign capital inflows. According to the HCMC Statistics Office, the city attracted more than US$3.8 billion in foreign investment in the first five months of 2026, up 20.3% from the same period last year.

Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery exports reached an estimated US$30.69 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 9.2% from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Imports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products rose 12.6% year-on-year to US$22.28 billion, leaving the sector with a trade surplus of US$8.41 billion, up 1.1%.

Vietnam’s agriculture sector has set targets of achieving average annual GDP growth of 3.6-4%, increasing export revenue by 10-12% per year, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 8-9% over the next five years. The targets form the core of a broader strategy to shift from low-value agricultural production toward higher-value products and build an ecological, green and low-emission agricultural sector with more efficient resource management.

In the next phase of its development, HCMC is prioritizing efforts to attract investment from South Korean businesses in four strategic sectors, including developing an international financial center, building AI and semiconductor ecosystems, expanding the startup and venture capital ecosystem, and advancing smart urban and green growth projects.

Plans to establish a bilateral digital corridor and connect cross-border payment infrastructure between India’s UPI system and Vietnam’s NAPAS network are expected to become a breakthrough solution for businesses in both countries to accelerate trade flows and help lift bilateral trade to US$25 billion by 2030. The strategic initiative was unveiled at the Vietnam – India Cross-Border E- Commerce Business Forum held on May 18 in Noida City, Uttar Pradesh State, India.

Under a plan recently issued by the HCMC government on developing concentrated safe vegetable production zones through 2030, the city will maintain 5,500 hectares of vegetable farmland, equivalent to 35,000 hectares of cultivated area based on crop rotation, with expected output reaching around 880,000 tons annually.