Business News

Reducing costs has become an increasingly urgent priority for import-export activities, particularly logistics costs, a conference in Hà Nội was told on Tuesday. According to Deputy General Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Agency for Foreign Trade, Trần Thanh Hải, import-export activities has remained a bright spot for the economy in recent years, playing an important role and helping drive macroeconomic growth.

The steel industry recorded double-digit growth in both production and sales in the first seven months of 2026, while export remained more subdued, highlighting the increasing importance of domestic demand as public investment and construction activity expand. According to the World Steel Association, Việt Nam produced around 15.2 million tonnes of crude steel in the first half of 2026, up 26.9 per cent year-on-year, keeping the country among the world's 10 largest steel producers.

Business associations and enterprises in Hà Nội have urged the city to tackle bottlenecks in financing, logistics, infrastructure and regulations to improve competitiveness, expand production and support export growth, as the capital seeks to sustain double-digit economic expansion. Mạc Quốc Anh, vice chairman and secretary general of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Hanoisme), said exports were not simply about selling goods overseas but also reflected a company's production capacity, management, ability to meet international standards and reputation.

With its mountains, highlands and long coastline brought together under one administrative roof, the enlarged Lâm Đồng is now Việt Nam’s largest province by area – and a place where stronger transport links could help turn its diverse economic strengths into a more integrated engine of growth. Against this backdrop, the province is prioritising an integrated transport network to strengthen regional connectivity, expand development space and lay the foundation for sustainable socio-economic growth.

Ports in the northern city of Hải Phòng handled an estimated 134.34 million tonnes of goods in the first eight months of 2026, exceeding the eight-month target of 115 million tonnes by 16.8 per cent and rising 11.74 per cent year on year, equivalent to 56.2 per cent of the full-year plan. The strong performance followed a series of measures to optimise port capacity and improve the competitiveness of the city’s seaport system, with a focus on maximising the efficiency of the Lạch Huyện international gateway port as new berths came into operation.

Speaking at a logistics conference on August 26, Ho Thi Quyen, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, said that Vietnam is now home to more than 34,000 logistics companies, with the sector contributing around 4.5-5 per cent of GDP. However, logistics costs remain high at approximately 16 per cent of GDP. 

With its distinctive advantages, long-term development planning, and a series of strategic infrastructure projects in the pipeline, Dong Thap province is steadily turning its ambition of becoming a cross-border logistics hub into reality, connecting the Mekong Delta with Ho Chi Minh City, the southeast region, and other countries in the Mekong subregion.

The capital has considerable advantages in workers, science and technology, universities and research institutes, consumer demand, service infrastructure and its position as a regional connectivity hub. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hà Nội are being encouraged to tap into opportunities arising from public investment, infrastructure development, digital transformation and the green economy as the capital seeks to mobilise the private sector in pursuit of sustainable double-digit growth.