Commercial and service highlights

(Baonghean) - A clear hallmark of the 2010-2015 period was the strong development of vibrant commercial and service sectors in Vinh City. The emergence of shopping centers, supermarkets, and banking and financial services not only contributed to a new urban landscape but also paved the way for Vinh to quickly become a major commercial and service center in the North Central region.

The most prominent highlight is the BigC Vinh shopping center and supermarket. Located in a prime location at a central intersection of the city, with a retail space of up to 6,000m2, after 5 years of operation, BigC Vinh has become an ideal shopping and entertainment destination for people inside and outside the province, contributing to changing the retail landscape of the province. Mr. Tran An Khang, Director of BigC Vinh, said: "Investing here, we recognized the prospect of Vinh City becoming the regional center of the North Central region in the field of trade and services. This has been proven after 5 years of operation. Despite the difficult economic conditions, BigC Vinh has still achieved double-digit growth, and what we continue to do is to focus even more on controlling the quality of goods, improving the quality of services, and increasing shopping amenities to better meet the increasingly high demands of customers."

BigC Vinh - a highlight of commercial services in Vinh City.

The second highlight is the HC Vinh electronics supermarket located on Le Hong Phong Street. Having only been present in Vinh City since the beginning of 2015, HC Vinh has become a popular choice for residents of the city and surrounding areas when purchasing electronics, refrigeration equipment, and household appliances, offering a modern, spacious environment and a professional shopping experience.

BigC Vinh and HC Vinh are just two highlights in the vibrant commercial and service development of Vinh City. Other large shopping centers and supermarkets offer a wide variety of goods, meeting the needs not only of city and provincial residents but also of tourists visiting Vinh City. According to current statistics, in addition to its extensive commercial network, Vinh City has 16 supermarkets and 18 markets, including 2 first-class markets, 3 second-class markets, and 13 third-class markets. The gasoline station network is also well-distributed with 38 outlets.

To promote professional and large-scale commercial activities, Vinh City encourages, facilitates, and licenses businesses to form specialized streets such as the furniture street (Tran Phu Street), the electronics and refrigeration street (Quang Trung Street), the building materials street (Phan Dinh Phung Street), and the pharmaceutical street (Nguyen Phong Sac Street). In addition, the remaining 11 streets have also basically formed specialized streets with a product category ratio of 40-65%. Service and commercial activities continue to develop in both scale and quality, gradually becoming a regional center. Commercial service infrastructure continues to be strengthened, and the quality of various service types is increasingly improved, moving towards specialization and professionalism.

This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the value-added results of the trade and service sector have consistently grown at double-digit rates over the past 10 years, averaging 15% per year during the 2005-2010 period and over 22.5% per year during the 2011-2014 period. According to statistics from the Institute of Strategy - Ministry of Planning and Investment: In 2013, the total retail sales of goods and services revenue of the city reached VND 6,784 billion, an increase of 20.8% compared to 2012, with an average growth rate of 17.2% during the 2006-2013 period, accounting for the largest proportion compared to other localities in the province; equivalent to 27.5% of the total retail sales of goods and services revenue of Thua Thien Hue province, 37% of Quang Tri province, and 23.6% of Ha Tinh province.

Financial and banking services, as well as insurance services, have also developed strongly, contributing to macroeconomic stability. To date, 25 bank branches and credit institutions, and 20 insurance service businesses have been established and are operating in the area. Monetary services and banking and insurance activities have developed quite steadily, actively supporting the production and business activities of people and businesses, gradually forming a regional financial and banking service center. It is estimated that by the end of 2015, total mobilized capital reached VND 38,300 billion, and total outstanding loans reached VND 72,700 billion. The postal and telecommunications network has been upgraded comprehensively.

Services in the postal and telecommunications sectors have developed strongly. Revenue from postal and telecommunications services has increased by an average of 15.5% over the past five years. Mr. Tran Quang Lam, Head of the Economic Department of Vinh City, stated that the city is submitting a proposal to the Government for approval to develop Vinh into a regional center in several areas, including trade and services. Accordingly, the city is currently researching the construction of a regional trade promotion center in the North Central region to allow businesses to showcase products, sign cooperation agreements, promote trade, and create a foundation for integration.

It can be said that the goal is to develop Vinh City into the commercial center of the North Central region, functioning as a hub for import and export, consolidation, transshipment, distribution, and transportation of goods and services. What is needed now is to review and supplement the planning of the business and trade network; strengthen investment attraction; and accelerate the construction of commercial infrastructure and key commercial projects such as: the North Central Region Exhibition and Convention Center, the regional goods transshipment and distribution warehouse, supermarkets, shopping centers, and the construction of financial and commercial facilities along the Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard.

Strengthen and effectively manage markets and infrastructure serving commercial services, while simultaneously implementing appropriate management model transformations and mobilizing resources to invest in the construction of Vinh Market and Vinh Railway Station Market, making them true commercial, wholesale, and retail centers for the region. Improve information dissemination, market research and surveys, and combat smuggling, counterfeiting, and commercial fraud. Plan the development of the credit and banking system towards diversification of financial services such as auditing, insurance, leasing, financial consulting, the stock market, and real estate transactions, ensuring consistency, modernity, and transparency. Create conditions to attract banks and insurance companies to open branches and representative offices in Vinh City to gradually form a regional financial, banking, and insurance service center. The plan involves developing a comprehensive system of intelligent transportation, public services, and parking facilities to strongly promote transportation and tourism services.

Hong Son