INDUSTRY 4.0: Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas possess tremendous potential

The Forum “Industry 4.0 & Smart Supply Chains – New Drivers for Ho Chi Minh City” was organized under the direction of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), with the coordination of Business Forum Magazine, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority, and OMG Event Management Co., Ltd., the organizer of the Vietnam Manufacturing Industry Exhibition Series 2026.

From left to right: Hoang Quang Phong, Vice President of VCCI; Tran Ngoc Liem, Director of VCCI-HCM; Nguyen Tien Dung, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Business Forum Magazine; and Pham Quoc Long, Deputy CEO of Gemadept – Photo: Dinh Dai.

Speaking at the forum, Mr. Hoang Quang Phong, Vice President of VCCI, stated that the Fourth Industrial Revolution, together with the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, will bring comprehensive changes to market structures, production methods, consumption patterns and public administration.

According to him, this presents an opportunity for Vietnam to enhance labor productivity, improve the competitiveness of traditional industries, and access global markets through digital and internet-based platforms, thereby achieving rapid, high-value and sustainable growth.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is creating and will continue to create opportunities for the digital economy, smart manufacturing and smart services. Economic sectors including industry, agriculture, services, tourism, finance, banking, logistics and robotics are all becoming increasingly intelligent,” Vice President Hoang Quang Phong remarked.

He also noted that Industry 4.0 helps boost labor productivity and reduce production and management costs, generating substantial benefits for the Government, businesses and consumers. Vietnam has already introduced policies to promote the knowledge economy and high technology, although these policies may not be directly linked to Industry 4.0.

Mr. Hoang Quang Phong emphasized that Industry 4.0 technologies will serve as the fundamental platform for industrial development in the future.

The Vice President of VCCI further pointed out that June 7 marked 100 days since the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran. As the global economy continues to face instability, the logistics sector has not been immune to these disruptions. Therefore, the importance of smart supply chains has never been greater.

Vice President of VCCI Hoang Quang Phong delivers remarks at the forum – Photo: Dinh Dai.

According to a report by Gartner, a leading global information technology research and consulting company, more than 50 billion devices are expected to be connected to the Internet by 2026, creating an estimated USD 1.9 trillion opportunity for the logistics sector. The Internet of Things (IoT) will therefore help address numerous challenges across logistics operations.

Alongside IoT, technologies that are increasingly transforming logistics include Big Data and AI, given the enormous volume of data generated throughout supply chains. Big Data helps optimize capacity, improve customer experience, reduce risks and create new business models. AI, meanwhile, enhances self-learning capabilities and supports advanced analysis and forecasting within the industry.

“Vietnam stands out as an economy with a population of more than 100 million people, highly favorable demographics and a rapidly expanding middle class. As a result, opportunities for cooperation with leading international enterprises in the digital economy and many other sectors are extremely significant,” Mr. Hoang Quang Phong stressed.

Regarding Ho Chi Minh City, he noted that following the expansion of its economic space, the city and its surrounding areas now possess substantial potential, with more than 43,000 industrial enterprises and 90 industrial and export processing zones. This expanded economic space, he said, provides the foundation for developing interregional high-tech industrial clusters and promoting smart supply chains.

Under the city’s development vision toward 2050, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to have 105 industrial parks covering a total area of more than 49,000 hectares. This represents a historic opportunity for the city to reshape its entire industrial structure, focusing on high-tech sectors with strong knowledge content and high added value, thereby creating new and sustainable growth drivers.

However, Vice President Hoang Quang Phong also acknowledged that major opportunities are always accompanied by significant challenges. The city continues to face shortcomings in transport connectivity infrastructure, high logistics costs, low labor productivity and a low localization rate. At the same time, automation and international competition are placing increasing pressure on traditional production models.

For this reason, a dual transformation, digitalization for intelligence and greening for sustainability is now essential. Advanced technologies must be integrated into production management, while traditional industrial parks need to transition toward eco-industrial and smart industrial models.

The forum attracted strong participation from the business community – Photo: Dinh Dai.

Together with the city’s own efforts, strong and breakthrough government policies supporting new urban development models and prioritizing key sectors, particularly through comprehensive planning and strategic vision, will serve as both a driving force and a guiding framework for transforming Ho Chi Minh City into a smart city during the first half of the twenty-first century. In doing so, the city will not only remain the country’s economic engine but also contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the era of Industry 4.0.

For this reason, Mr. Hoang Quang Phong expressed confidence that experts, speakers and businesses participating in the Forum “Industry 4.0 & Smart Supply Chains – New Drivers for Ho Chi Minh City” would work together to identify comprehensive solutions capable of helping industries, manufacturing and logistics achieve stronger breakthroughs and become increasingly intelligent.

“This is also the second forum in a three-part series. The first forum, ‘Northern Industrial Investment Trends – Opportunities and Challenges 2026,’ was held in Hai Phong on April 15, 2026. The next forum, ‘Precision Manufacturing and Advanced Processing – Strengthening the Electronics and Components Industry,’ is scheduled to take place on November 4, 2026, at the Kinh Bac Cultural Center in Bac Ninh, one of Northern Vietnam’s leading electronics and high-tech industrial hubs,” he noted.

He also affirmed that, based on the insights and recommendations shared by experts and businesses, VCCI will prepare a special report for relevant authorities to support the sustainable development of Vietnam’s industrial sectors and contribute to stronger economic growth in the new era.