HANOI: Vietnam has recorded stronger business confidence, a sharp rise in enterprise formation and growing contributions from the private sector one year after the launch of Resolution 68-NQ/TW.
That was a landmark policy aimed at promoting private-sector development, Deputy Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Tam said.
The resolution has boosted business confidence and created momentum for private firms to expand, improve competitiveness and play a greater role in driving economic growth, according to Tam.
The ministry’s report after the first year of implementation showed that the resolution delivered tangible results, including a sharp increase in the number of newly established and reactivated businesses, positive developments in the stock market, record trade performance and rising contributions from the private sector to state budget revenues.
As of May 18, Vietnam had more than 1.062 million active enterprises nationwide.
Since May 2025, the country has recorded an average of 18,000 newly established businesses each month, up 37.8% from the January to April average that year.
More than 8,300 enterprises also resumed operations each month on average. In 2025, nearly 297,500 businesses were newly established or returned to the market, an increase of 27.4% compared with 2024.
Additional capital registered by the private sector reached nearly 6.4 quadrillion dong (US$245bil), up 77.8% year-on-year (y-o-y).
The momentum continued into the first four months of 2026, with 77,817 newly established enterprises registering total capital of more than 730 trillion dong and creating nearly 400,000 jobs.
These figures represented increases of 50.7% in the number of businesses and nearly 50% in registered capital compared with the same period last year.
More than 41,000 enterprises resumed operations during the period, up 8.6% y-o-y, bringing the total number of newly established and returning businesses to nearly 120,000, an increase of 32.8%.
The stock market has also benefitted from improved investor sentiment and preparations to upgrade Vietnam’s market status.
The benchmark VN-Index climbed to nearly 1,925 points on May 15, while average daily trading value reached around 32.7 trillion dong, up 12.1% from the previous year’s average.
By the end of April, total stock market capitalisation had reached a record 10.5 quadrillion dong, equivalent to about 82% of Vietnam’s 2025 gross domestic product.
The number of investor accounts surged to nearly 13 million, more than 29% higher than at the end of 2024.
Capital raised through the stock market and private corporate bond market reached approximately 744.5 trillion dong in 2025, up 42.9% from the previous year.
Government bond issuance totalled 138.7 trillion dong in the first five months of 2026, equivalent to 27.7% of the annual target.
Trade performance has also been a standout.
Total import-export turnover reached a record US$930bil in 2025, up from US$786.3bil in 2024, placing Vietnam among the world’s 15 largest trading economies. Exports rose by 17% to US$475bil last year.
Growth remained strong in early 2026, with total trade turnover in the first five months estimated at more than US$345bil, up nearly 25%t from a year earlier.
The improvement in business activity has also supported state budget revenues.
Tax collections from the non-state sector reached an estimated 502.6 trillion dong in 2025, equivalent to 135.7% of the target and significantly above plan.
Revenue from household and individual businesses recorded its strongest growth rate of the 2021-25 period, rising more than 36.3% compared with 2024.
During the first five months of 2026, budget revenue from the non-state sector reached nearly 68% of the annual target, up 43.6% y-o-y.
The resolution’s impact extends beyond short-term improvements in business formation, investment and trade indicators, helping to reshape the structure of Vietnam’s private sector and strengthen its role in achieving the country’s long-term growth objectives, according to Tam.
The government has placed institutional reform at the centre of its strategy to support private-sector development, focusing on streamlining administrative procedures, reduce business conditions and shift regulatory oversight from pre-licensing approvals to post-audit supervision.
Pointing out that access to land remains one of the biggest constraints facing private enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Finance Ministry is drafting amendments to the Law on Support for SMEs. — Viet Nam News/ANN
