The latest estimation is 3.3 percent higher than the target, Ho Chi Minh City party chief Nguyen Thien Nhan said at a municipal meeting Friday.

The city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) is expected to climb 8.3 percent over last year to more than VND1,300 trillion ($56.2 billion).

Regarding foreign investment, the city might attract $8 billion from both fresh and operational projects, or 22 percent of last year’s total sum.

"The city has tried hard since the year’s beginning and this is a respectable result," Nhan said.

He also mentioned changes in economic structure of the city, saying that back in 2005, state-run firms made up 32 percent of the city’s economy, the private sector, 51 percent and the rest, the foreign investment sector.

But by next year, state-owned companies will make up only 16 percent.

As the economic structure has changed, the role of the state should also be adjusted and reflected in policies, planning and dialogues with different economic components instead of direct involvement as before, he said.

The biggest city in Vietnam, the 13-million-strong HCMC has always been the nation’s biggest moneymaker and for years has been assigned the highest state budget collection target.

For this year, its target of VND400 trillion was 1.1 times higher than those of the remaining four federal municipalities, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho, put together, which is only VND365.9 trillion.

Nhan had said in April that the city should have the right to keep more of its revenues to pay for infrastructure development instead of being allowed to use just around 5 percent of its own budget collection.

"The city has to submit way too much to the state budget and keep very little for itself. It is home to 9.5 percent of the country’s population, so it should be allowed to keep 9.5 percent of its budget collection instead of just 5.2 percent," Nhan said.

"This is a serious imbalance that has resulted in HCMC being unable to afford public investment for its infrastructure," he said.