Ha Noi, HCM City among 15 fastest-growing major cities by 2033

Ho Chi Minh City ranks second, while Ha Noi is placed at sixth, in the Growth Hubs Index, a companion to the Savills Resilient Cities Index.

HCM City's strong forecast is driven by the largest increase in the number of high-income households, while Ha Noi's prospects are based on growing personal wealth and an expanding middle class.

Viet Nam continues to lay the groundwork to reap the benefits of strong inflows of foreign direct investment in the coming decade through step-changes in infrastructure, regulation and planning.

About 6 percent of GDP is committed to infrastructure–the highest level in the region. This is for projects including Long Thanh International Airport, east of Ho Chi Minh City, as well as thousands of kilometers of new roads and deep sea ports.

"Viet Nam has changed from traditional dirt-floor manufacturing, with companies just seeking a lower cost of labor, to a country that is high-tech, more intensive, with tertiary manufacturing," says Troy Griffiths, Deputy Managing Director, Central Management at Savills Viet Nam.

Overall, investment in infrastructure is expected to shift the country's industrial landscape. Around these new projects, land will also be earmarked for residential developments, plus supporting services and amenities.

The Growth Hubs Index builds on the Resilient Cities Index by forecasting the economic aspects of 230 cities through to 2033 to identify the fastest-growing cities./.