A new growth trend

Following the consolidation of the former communes of Sín Chải, Tả Sìn Thàng, and Lao Xả Phình, the new Sín Chải commune now covers a much larger area and population. The demand for housing and rental accommodation for commune-level civil servants has also surged.

Sensing this opportunity, in July 2025, Hoàng Thành Sung, a resident of Tả Sìn Thàng hamlet in Sín Chải commune, boldly borrowed VND 150 million from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and used his family’s savings to build a new boarding house of 13 rooms, with a total investment of about VND 600 million.

“I had built eight rental rooms years ago for students and local officials, charging about VND 700,000 per month”, Sung said. “But after the communes were merged, housing demand rose sharply, so we decided to invest in a new, larger, and more comfortable facility with rent at VND 1 million per month”. The new boarding house was completed and opened in early October, providing accommodation for around 30 commune officials and employees.

From July 1 to November 10, Sín Chải commune recorded 23 newly registered household businesses with a total registered capital of VND 725 million. As of November 10, the commune had 160 active businesses with total operating capital exceeding VND 5.4 billion. Since the beginning of the year, retail sales and service revenue are estimated at VND 90 billion, while state budget revenue has topped VND 41 billion, including more than VND 18 billion collected locally.

According to Hoàng Tú Hanh, Deputy Head of the Sín Chải Economic Department, the commune is encouraging investment in trade and service development, improving infrastructure in central areas, and expanding household-scale businesses. “We are also developing plans to better manage and enhance the efficiency of the central market, while ensuring fair competition and safe food and consumer goods”, he added.

The commune has also strengthened market inspections, food safety checks, and anti-counterfeit measures to ensure a stable supply of essential goods and strictly penalize violations of business regulations.

Driving economic growth

In Nậm Kè, a border commune, local authorities are working to make trade and services the main driver of economic growth following the administrative merger.

According to Nguyễn Tiến Thành, Chairman of the Nậm Kè People’s Committee, “The commune currently has 93 households operating small retail and service businesses providing essential goods to residents. To spur growth, we are calling on enterprises and investors to explore the area’s commercial and tourism potential, from convenience stores and small shopping centers to diverse experiential tourism services.”

Recently, Nậm Kè has implemented a series of public infrastructure and education projects with total investment exceeding VND 19 billion. These include key projects such as rural roads, schools, and water systems, helping boost production and improve living standards. In parallel, the commune is assessing the potential for eco-tourism and community-based travel, with sites like the cloud-hunting spot in Chuyên Gia 2 hamlet and the Huổi Thanh 1 rice field, to diversify local tourism services.

With increasing participation from both public and private sectors, investment in commercial and service infrastructure across Điện Biên’s communes has gained strong momentum. The province’s trade networks in remote and mountainous areas are steadily expanding, bringing higher-quality goods and services to ethnic communities.

According to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, in the first nine months of the year, total retail sales and consumer service revenue reached VND 21.5 trillion, up 9.7% year-on-year, or 78% of the annual target. Of that, retail sales accounted for VND 17.685 billion, accommodation and catering services VND 1.148 billion, tourism services VND 2.4 billion, and other services VND 2.664 billion.

These figures clearly reflect the strong momentum of Điện Biên’s service trade sector in recent years, particularly in the circulation of goods and service provision, which have met the population’s production and consumption needs.

For communes formed through mergers, developing commerce and services is now seen as a strategic path for transformation, stimulating consumer demand, boosting retail sales and service revenues, and improving livelihoods. With synchronized planning, modern infrastructure, and sound development policies, many commune centers across Điện Biên province are on track to become emerging local hubs for trade and services, driving economic vitality and community prosperity.