Hai Duong and Hai Phong grow double digits in the first quarter

In the first quarter of this year, the country's GDP increased by 6.93%, the highest level in the past 5 years. In terms of growth rate, 43 localities had a higher growth rate than the national average and 20 provinces had a lower growth rate.

9 localities with growth of 10% or more: including Bac Giang, Hoa Binh, Nam Dinh, Da Nang, Lai Chau, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and Ha Nam.

Along with that, 18 localities reached 8 - 10%, 16 provinces reached 7 - 8%, and the remaining 20 places were below 7%.

Bac Giang - a locality with many large industrial zones in the North - has the highest growth rate in the country, at 13.82% - exceeding the scenario by 0.82 percentage points. This is also the locality that has maintained a double-digit growth rate of gross regional domestic product (GRDP) over the past 5 years.

The main growth driver of the province came from the industrial and construction sector, with 17.24% in the first quarter. The province's index of production (IIP) increased by approximately 26.6% over the same period. Along with that, the production value reached VND183,146 billion, up nearly 26%.

Bac Giang’s investment attraction has also been positive, with 680 million USD as of the end of March, up 9% over the same period. In particular, 11 new domestic projects were licensed with registered capital of 13,630 billion VND, 1.8 times higher than the same period.

Da Nang ranked fourth in the country in terms of GRDP growth, reaching 11.36%. This growth rate also led the group of centrally-run cities, surpassing Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Can Tho.

Lai Chau - one of the poorest provinces in the country recorded a GRDP increase of 11.32%, the 5th highest in the country. This impressive economic growth mainly comes from the electricity production and distribution industry - accounting for 29% of the total product in the area - increasing by nearly 35% over the same period last year.

Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are the two cities with the largest economies in the country, but are not in the top 30 fastest growing localities. By the end of the first quarter, Ho Chi Minh City's GRDP increased by 7.51%, Hanoi's by 7.35%. These levels are considered "good results", according to the Ministry of Finance.

This year, the Government plans and decides to maintain the GDP growth target of 8%, despite the challenges facing the global and domestic macro situation due to the US tariff policy. This is to create momentum for the following years of double-digit economic growth (over 10%).

To achieve this target, the Government assigned localities to grow by 8% or more. Of these, about two-thirds have double-digit growth rates, such as Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa, Da Nang, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Dong Nai, Binh Duong...

According to the Ministry of Finance's report, 26 localities achieved and exceeded the GRDP target in the first quarter according to the scenario. Of which, Bac Ninh took the lead in implementing "growth contracts" with GRDP in the first quarter estimated at 9.05% over the same period, exceeding the scenario by 2.75 percentage points. The growth driver of this locality came from services, increasing by 9.78%.

Similarly, Ha Nam grew by 10.54%, 1.94 percentage points higher than the scenario. Of which, industry and construction were the main drivers, with an increase of nearly 12%.

Ha Tinh's GRDP increased by only 6.5%, but exceeded the scenario by 3 percentage points. Meanwhile, Hue City's growth reached 9.9%, 1.8 percentage points higher than the quarter target.

Hanoi recorded GRDP growth of 7.35%, 0.15% higher than the quarterly target. However, industry and construction - the mainstay of the capital - grew at a low rate of 5.54%.

Quang Ninh had a GRDP growth rate of 10.91%, but the service sector was 1.71 percentage points lower than planned.

In addition, up to 37 localities did not meet the requirements according to the scenario. Many of these provinces and cities play the role of growth engines of the economy. For example, Ho Chi Minh City achieved 7.51% - the highest growth rate in 6 years, but was still 1.03 percentage points lower than the scenario. All 4 pillar areas (industry, construction, services and exports) were 0.74 - 2.35% lower than the target.

Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Dong Nai and Binh Duong all had GRDP growth rates lower by 0.9 - 1.46 percentage points.

Similarly, Ba Ria - Vung Tau recorded a GRDP increase of 2.48%. This level is only equal to nearly one-third of the quarterly target. According to this locality, the province's electricity production and distribution industry decreased by nearly 20.5% due to the Southern Petrochemical Complex project stopping production from October 2024, the Hyosung Vina Chemical Company project facing difficulties... The locality's implementation of land auctions in 2025 is still slow, while crude oil exploitation and import and export decreased compared to the same period last year, which is also the reason for the decline in growth.

This year, the province has been assigned a GRDP target of 10.5%. To achieve the target, the locality said it will focus on handling projects that are behind schedule, have been delayed for a long time, and have the risk of causing loss and waste. They also plan to increase public investment disbursement, develop tourism, attract investment in tourism - urban - service projects, promote trade and increase consumer demand.

Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Finance proposed that the Government direct localities that have not achieved the GRDP target according to the scenario, especially Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, to review and evaluate areas that have not met the target.

Localities, together with the Ministry of Finance, will adjust the GRDP and regional growth scenarios for the remaining quarters to achieve the Government's target this year. The Ministry also recommends that the Government direct localities to review new resources, growth drivers and solutions for the coming time.