Business News

To survive and break through, innovation has become a core competitive tool for Việt Nam’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for more than 97 per cent of all domestic enterprises. As traditional competitive advantages like cheap labour and raw resource extraction reach their limits, competing primarily through financial muscle is no longer a viable strategy.

The target, approved by the National Assembly (NA) on November 7, comes amid encouraging economic performance in the first 10 months of 2026. However, sustaining high growth will require more than increased investment and credit. Improving productivity, strengthening the private sector, promoting industrial development and accelerating science and technology adoption will be crucial to turning the ambitious target into reality.

Exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products reached $63.02 billion in the first 10 months of 2026, generating a trade surplus of around $18.9 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Export earnings in October were estimated at $6.93 billion, up 7.9 per cent from September and 13.4 per cent from the same month last year. The 10-month total rose by 8 per cent year on year to $63.02 billion.

With mature fields declining, new discoveries becoming increasingly difficult and costly to develop, and pressure mounting to diversify beyond conventional exploration and production, a consistent regulatory framework will be essential to sustaining domestic output, attracting long-term investment and strengthening national energy resilience

Việt Nam’s urban areas need to move beyond expansion driven mainly by land development and investment capital toward a growth model based on productivity, innovation, technology and efficient use of resources, experts said at a forum in Hà Nội on Friday. The Vietnam Urban Sustainability Summit 2026, themed “Urban Development Model Contributing to National Growth”, was jointly organised by the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Policy and Strategy and the Ministry of Construction.

HCM City disbursed over VNĐ118.3 trillion (US$4.7 billion) in public investment during the first 10 months of 2026, reaching 80.1 per cent of the annual plan assigned by the Prime Minister and outperforming the national average. The rate marks a sharp rise compared to 56.2 per cent recorded in the same period last year. 

According to the 2026 e-Conomy SEA report released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, most sectors of Việt Nam’s digital economy are maintaining double-digit growth, driven by platforms expanding their operations and generating more revenue from changing consumer habits. E-commerce remains the main growth engine, accounting for around two-thirds of the country's total digital economy.

Việt Nam aims to ensure Vietnamese products account for more than 80 per cent of goods displayed in domestic supermarkets and shopping centres and 60 per cent in traditional markets by 2030, under a new government programme to boost local consumption and strengthen the position of local brands. The target is part of the “Vietnamese goods for Vietnamese” programme for the 2026–30 period, approved under Decision No. 2069/QĐ-TTg signed by Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Gia Túc late last month.