Business News

Việt Nam enters the second half of 2026 on a strong growth footing, with investment and domestic consumption emerging as important supports as external trade faces greater uncertainty. Recent analysis by EBC Financial Group and BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, suggests that the economy has room to maintain solid momentum, although inflation, currency and external trade risks could test its resilience.

Seafood exports are expected to top US$12 billion this year, but, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, the industry will have to contend with four major challenges: higher tariffs, stricter traceability requirements, rising input costs, and intensifying competition in key markets. VASEP said seafood exports in the first seven months of the year were up 11.5 per cent year-on-year at $6.78 billion.

Việt Nam is looking to develop its materials industry to strengthen strategic autonomy, national competitiveness and its ability to master core technologies, as the country pushes for more self-reliant, rapid and sustainable growth. The effort is outlined in the Politburo’s Conclusion 83-KL/TW issued on August 8, which sets out key directions and targets for the development of Việt Nam's materials industry.

In the first half of 2026, Hung Yen's regional GDP grew 10.72 per cent, ranking fifth among 34 provinces and cities nationwide, while the industry and construction sector expanded by 14.6 per cent. Growth momentum continued in July, bringing the province's industrial production index up 15.41 per cent on-year in the first seven months, with manufacturing and processing industries increasing 16.05 per cent.

Vinh Long is turning sci-tech, innovation, and digital transformation into powerful drivers of better governance and stronger economic growth. The province, part of the Mekong Delta region, has completed 57 of the 61 tasks set out under Resolution No.57-NQ/TW. It has also completed 163 of the 165 tasks assigned by the Central Steering Committee.

While business confidence has become more measured compared with the optimistic outlook at the beginning of the year, US companies remain committed to Vietnam. According to a member survey released by the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam on August 15, respondents continue to invest, increase revenue, maintain employment, and identify significant opportunities in manufacturing, technology, infrastructure, and the country's growing domestic market.

According to data from the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Finance, Indonesia has made a strong advance, rising to sixth place and up 30 positions among the countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the first seven months of the year. In the same period of last year, Indonesia registered only $11.8 million in investment in Vietnam, down 49.5 per cent from the same period in 2024.

Vietnam is moving towards a new approach to foreign investment, with the focus shifting from attracting capital and individual projects to developing a foreign-invested economic sector that is more deeply integrated with the domestic economy. At a seminar at the headquarters of Vietnam Government Portal, Bui Thu Thuy, deputy director general of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), said Resolution No.10-NQ/TW represents several major shifts in development thinking.