FTA Index 2025 · Provincial Brief
Ho Chi Minh
Provincial performance in implementing free trade agreements
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Classification
Fair
Fair
Ranked 13th out of 34 assessed provinces and cities.
Overall score
Higher than the national average (+1.50).
Highlight
Evenness
All four pillars are close to the national average, with neither exceptionally high nor weak pillars.
Four component indexes at a glance
A
Information access
Rank 17 / 34
4.66
/ 10
-0.14 vs avg
B
Implementation of FTA-related regulations
Rank 16 / 34
5.58
/ 10
+0.38 vs avg
C
Policies supporting FTA utilisation
Rank 16 / 34
5.81
/ 10
-0.01 vs avg
D
Sustainable development commitments
Rank 12 / 34
7.11
/ 10
+1.14 vs avg
★ Strengths
#15
Enterprises' ability to access support policies (C6)
#15
Quality of information provided & effectiveness of state support for sustainable development (A4, D4)
#16
Enterprises' knowledge of FTAs & exploitation activities (A1, C3)
#17
Frequency of guiding enterprises on legal documents & ease of compliance (B2, B4)
Limitations
#31
Information on FTAs from state management agencies (A2)
#28
Forms of accessing information & quality of market forecast information (A3, A8)
#25
Actual level of FTA utilisation (C1)
#23
Quality of guidance on legal documents & diversity of commitments being utilised (B3, C4)
Source: FTA Index 2025; scale 1–5; ranks out of 34 provinces
01
Overview of the result
Ho Chi Minh City ranked 13th out of 34 assessed provinces and cities, placing in the "Fair" group. The most prominent characteristic in the city's results is the evenness across pillars. However, despite being a major economic region of Vietnam and a key trade gateway, the city is performing at a level close to, rather than exceeding, the national average across all four pillars. The limitation that needs focused remediation currently is the information supply, as proactive information provision from state agencies currently ranks only 31st. The unexploited headroom suggests the next strategy for Ho Chi Minh City: a distance of 0.8 to 1.3 points from the leading locality in each pillar is a signal that breakthrough potential is entirely feasible.
Ho Chi Minh
National average
A
Information access
-0.14
B
Implementation of FTA-related regulations
+0.38
C
Policies supporting FTA utilisation
-0.01
D
Sustainable development commitments
+1.14
02
Detailed analysis by component index
A
Component Index 1
Information access
4.66 / 10
Rank 17 / 34 · -0.14
Enterprises have a relatively good level of FTA awareness: quality of information provided (A4) ranked 15th, enterprises' knowledge of FTAs (A1) ranked 16th. However, information sources provided by state management agencies (A2) ranked 31st, the diversity of information access forms (A3) ranked 28th, and the quality of market forecast and import-export guidance information (A8) ranked 28th. Even though the business community possesses high capacity and self-reliance, information sources from the public sector serving export activities remain relatively limited.
-0.14 vs avg
National rank by indicator
#15 Quality
#16 Knowledge
#31 State info
#28 Access forms
#28 Forecasting
B
Component Index 2
Implementation of FTA-related regulations
5.58 / 10
Rank 16 / 34 · +0.38
Indicator results currently record levels equivalent to the national average: guidance frequency on FTA-related legal documents (B2) ranked 17th, ease and facilitation when enterprises comply (B4) ranked 17th, level of enterprises' solid grasp of legal aspects (B1) ranked 20th. Additionally, the quality of document guidance (B3, ranked 23rd). In summary, room for improvement lies in enhancing the quality of guiding enterprises on documents and regulations, increasing the two-way interaction of guidance activities and programmes, and encouraging enterprises to actively contribute feedback.
+0.38 vs avg
National rank by indicator
#17 Guidance freq.
#17 Compliance
#20 Legal grasp
#20 Training
#23 Quality
C
Component Index 3
Policies supporting FTA utilisation
5.81 / 10
Rank 16 / 34 · -0.01
Business support policies and programmes operate stably and record fair results. Specifically, enterprises' ability to access and benefit from support (C6) ranked 15th, and effectiveness of support activities (C7) ranked 17th. However, the depth of agreement exploitation has not yet reached expectations: actual level of FTA utilisation (C1) ranked 25th, diversity of commitments utilised (C4) ranked 23rd. In the short term, the city needs to focus on transforming standard exploitation into in-depth exploitation, maximizing preferences beyond tariff reductions.
-0.01 vs avg
National rank by indicator
#15 Support access
#16 Exploitation forms
#17 Effectiveness
#25 Actual exploitation
#23 Commitments
D
Component Index 4
Sustainable development commitments
7.11 / 10
Rank 12 / 34 · +1.14
This is the pillar recording the highest result for Ho Chi Minh City. State support activities and quality for enterprises' compliance with sustainable development commitments (D4) ranked 15th, closely tracking the national benchmark. This is a relative bright spot, but has not yet broken through to the leading group. With its position as the country's largest commercial center, boosting compliance with sustainable development commitments should be one of the top priorities for the city in the next phase.
+1.14 vs avg
National rank by indicator
#15 State support
#15 Quality
03
Conclusions & implications
Strengths to build on
Business community with high capacity and self-reliance: demonstrated through enterprises' knowledge foundation regarding FTAs.
Stable, accessible support ecosystem: enterprises' ability to access support policies ranked 15th, effectiveness of support policies and programmes ranked 17th.
Sustainable development above the national average: enterprises have shown proactiveness in knowledge, and compliance support work has also recorded certain results.
Limitations to address
Improve the information provision of state management agencies: official information sources will play a core role in enterprises updating on FTAs.
Exploitation depth needs continued support: enterprise FTA utilisation occurs broadly but not deeply; the scope of commitments utilised remains narrow and mainly revolves around traditional commitments.
Quality of market forecast and import-export guidance information remains limited: future guidance needs to be proactive and updated regularly, in detail by key markets.
Next steps
Address the bottlenecks to move into the highest group
1
Boost information supply
Strengthen state information dissemination, forecasting activities, and market information for exporting enterprises.
A2 31 → top 15
2
Promote deeper exploitation
Support enterprises to maximize preferences in new-generation agreements beyond basic tariff cuts.
C1 25 → top 10
3
Improve guidance quality
Enhance the quality and two-way interaction of legal guidance activities - an important component in improving enterprise capacity.
B3 23 → top 10
4
Breakthrough in sustainability
Transform the city's leading economic position into a guiding role in sustainable development.
D 12 → top 5
