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The revenue is almost twice the sum it has been assigned for per day this year, municipal vice chairman Vo Van Hoan said at an online meeting Tuesday.

He said the government has tasked HCMC with earning VN365 trillion in budget revenues this year, which means it has to earn VND1.5 trillion each day.

As of now, the city has collected VND74.5 trillion, up 10.5 percent against the same period last year.

“Given what has been happening, the city will be able to complete the mission assigned by the central government,” Hoan said.

HCMC earned budget revenues of VND410 trillion in 2019, roughly 27 percent of the national figure and 3.3 percent higher than the target.

Last year, due to the pandemic impact, it achieved just 91.5 percent of the target, earning VND371 trillion.

HCMC’s population makes up 9.5 percent of the nation’s 96 million, its labor force accounts for 8.2 percent of the nation’s, but for several years now, it has repeatedly been the biggest money maker, contributing 25-27 percent of the state’s annual budget collection on average.

According to the city administration, in the first two months alone, all socio-economic development indicators in the city had posted better growth over the same period the previous year.

The total sales value of goods and services increased 4.7 percent while export turnover reached $8 billion, three times higher than the same period last year. The city’s industrial production index rose by 6 percent and more than 3,800 companies resumed operations in the first two months.

However, the city’s service industry is still suffering heavily from the pandemic and in the two months, the tourism sector saw revenues drop 70 percent year-on-year, while the hotel sector recorded a decrease of 14 percent.

Vietnam closed its borders and suspended all international flights in March 2020 to curb infection spread and has remained in that state ever since.

HCMC was granted autonomous decision-making powers in September 2017 to help it develop to its full potential. Accordingly, the city can raise and add additional fees and charges to increase its budget revenue.

Its top officials had in 2019 and 2020 asked the central government to let the city keep more of what it earns to pay for infrastructure development, because it has only been allowed to use 18 percent of its own budget collection so far.

Most major projects in HCMC, the biggest in Vietnam, are put under direct management of the ministries and the city cannot execute them as it has neither the financial ability nor the authority to do so.

The Udon Thani official made the remark during a working session with Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh on the occasion of the latter’s working visit to the province from February 23 to 28.

Sayam Sirimongkorn spoke highly of the Vietnamese community in Thailand as a whole and in Udon Thani in particular, who, he said, have always showed a great sense of solidarity, complied with the law and made significant contributions to the locality.

Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh thanked the provincial authorities for offering valuable support to the Vietnamese community, voicing his hopes that the Udon Thani leaders will continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community and help them in terms of policies and law, as well as supporting the work of local Vietnamese associations.

Highlighting the province’s advantages for boosting cooperation with Vietnam, the ambassador suggested the two sides strengthen the discussion of cooperation opportunities, including coordinating on the organisation of the Vietnam-Thailand Business Forum in Udon Thani in Q2 2021, on the occasion of the 45 ^th anniversary of Vietnam-Thailand diplomatic ties.

During a meeting with Vichian Khaokham, chair of the Udon Thani provincial administration organisation, Thanh shared the socio-economic development experiences of Vietnamese localities with similar conditions to Udon Thani, agreeing that the two sides need to soon prepare for the exchange of delegations and the signing of cooperation documents immediately after the air route between the two countries is reopened.

The Udon Thani leaders agreed to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to further develop their business & investment activities in the locality, towards establishing Vietnamese business and culinary streets in Udon Thani when conditions allow.

Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh at a meeting with Rector of Udon Thani Rajabhat University Charoon Thawornchak.

The delegation from the Vietnamese Embassy also paid a working visit to the Udon Thani Rajabhat University, during which the university’s rector, Charoon Thawornchak, highly lauded its educational cooperation with partner universities in the Vietnamese provinces of Thai Nguyen, Dien Bien and Quang Ninh. He expressed his wish for enhanced cooperation between Udon Thani and Vietnam in the time ahead, especially in the areas of education and people-to-people exchange.

For his part, Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh emphasised the educational cooperation potential between Thai universities and their Vietnamese partners, suggesting the two sides proactively facilitate such connections.

During the trip, Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh and Luong Xuan Hoa, president of the association of Vietnamese people in Udon Thani, met with young overseas Vietnamese in Thailand. Thanh briefed them on the situation in Vietnam as well as the success of the 13 ^th National Party Congress with its adoption of a socio-economic development strategy to turn Vietnam into a developed country by 2045.

Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh meets with young Vietnamese in Thailand.

The ambassador answered many questions from young Vietnamese people regarding how best to connect with Vietnam and expand business investment to the country, import-export and copyright registration procedures, the stock market, naturalisation, and the recognition of Thai master’s degrees in Vietnam.

Young overseas Vietnamese were encouraged to uphold their sense of solidarity and mutual support, and serve as a long-term friendship bridge between the two countries.

On the occasion, Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh and the delegation visited and had meetings with the association of Vietnamese people in Udon Thani and the Thailand-Vietnam businessmen’s association; offered incense to Uncle Ho at a memorial site dedicated to him; and visited the Vietnamese language teaching school at Khanh An Pagoda, as well as a market area for the Vietnamese community.