A delegation of 38 Lao officials visited Ho Chi Minh City to study its economic development, foreign investment attraction, science and technology use, and digital transformation. The visit gives Laos a chance to see concrete examples of fast growth.

Ho Chi Minh City attracted about $19.1 billion in foreign direct investment in the first ten months of 2026, which is 4.2 times the amount in the same period of 2025 and 73.9 % above its annual target. This shows the city’s strong ability to draw foreign money.

The city licensed 1,726 new FDI projects with a combined registered capital of about $9.7 billion. These projects add to the city’s rapid growth.

Ho Chi Minh City plans to focus on high‑technology areas such as artificial intelligence, microchips, semiconductors, biotechnology, clean energy, logistics, finance, the digital economy and the green economy. These sectors are seen as key for future development.

Fully online public services made up 80.1 % of all administrative procedures, and 95.99 % of applications were processed on schedule. The digital economy contributed 29.76 % of the city’s GRDP in the first nine months of 2026. The delegation expects to study these models and may apply similar ideas in Laos.