VOV.VN - With just over a week to go until Christmas, many areas across Ho Chi Minh City have been lavishly decorated, attracting large numbers of locals and visitors for sightseeing and photos.

With the Lunar New Year (Tet) set to fall in mid-February 2026, businesses in Ho Chi Minh City are accelerating production, finalising stockpiling plans and rolling out price-stabilisation measures to meet shopping demand amid persistently high input costs.

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have intensified inspections and law enforcement to prevent fishing vessels that fail to meet regulatory requirements from operating at sea, as part of efforts to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

VOV.VN - Day of Phở 2025 officially opened in Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of December 13, promoting Vietnamese food, agricultural products, and brands.

The Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), together with the Japan Business Association of Ho Chi Minh City (JCCH), hosted the 2025 Japan business roundtable in the city on December 12.

VOV.VN - The National Assembly on December 11 approved a resolution on the development of a free trade zone in Ho Chi Minh City, introducing pilot mechanisms to attract investment and position the city as a regional economic hub.

Ho Chi Minh City has readied necessary infrastructure, personnel, and investors for the operation of its International Financial Centre (IFC), slated to be inaugurated on December 19, Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS), has said.

VOV.VN -Vietnam Agribusiness Limited Liability Company (VAL), a joint venture between Bunge and Wilmar, inaugurated its second soybean oil crushing line at Phu My 1 Industrial Park, Phu My Ward, Ho Chi Minh City on December 10.

A ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Cuba (December 2, 1960 –2025) was held on December 9 in Ho Chi Minh City by the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organisations and the Consulate General of Cuba in the southern city.

Ho Chi Minh City’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) is forecast to expand by approximately 8.03% in 2025, outpacing the national average and reaffirming the city’s role as a leading growth engine for the country.