(Mr): Phung Xuan Minh. [Chairman of the Board of Directors of PT Group & Saigon Ratings]
Vietnam’s private economy at a time of national transformation.
After analyzing Vietnam’s private sector development strategy in the era of national progress and drawing lessons from international practical experience, it can be affirmed that: The private sector is not only an important economic sector, but is becoming a strategic key for Vietnam to realize its aspiration for prosperity and strength.
In the context of increasingly fierce global competition, a nation aspiring to rise cannot rely solely on resources, cheap labor, or extensive growth. The decisive foundation must be productivity, technology, innovation, modern governance, integration capacity, and the inherent strength of the business community. This is precisely the core development space for Vietnam’s private sector in the new era.
In reality, the private sector currently contributes about half of GDP, creates the majority of jobs, and is increasingly involved in production, trade, services, industry, logistics, technology, finance, real estate, modern agriculture, and many new fields. However, the potential of the private sector remains enormous if bottlenecks in institutions, capital, land, technology, human resources, markets, and trust are genuinely addressed.
From “important driving force” to “main driving force” of the Era of National Resurgence
A strategically significant new development is that Vietnam’s private sector is now being viewed at a higher level. While previously the private sector was often seen as a supplementary resource to the economy, it now needs to be recognized as a leading engine of growth, innovation, and enhanced national competitiveness.
Resolution 68-NQ/TW has set very clear goals: By 2030, Vietnam aims to have 2 million businesses operating in the economy; the private sector will contribute approximately 55-58% of GDP; provide employment for about 84-85% of the total workforce; and at least 20 large enterprises will participate in global value chains. By 2045, the private sector is expected to have at least 3 million businesses, contributing over 60% of GDP and possessing high competitiveness regionally and internationally.
These goals show that Vietnam needs not only more businesses, but also better, stronger, more transparent businesses with global competitiveness. This represents a shift from a “quantitative development” mindset to a “quality improvement” mindset, from “encouraging business” to “building a nation-building business force.”
Therefore, the private sector needs to be placed at the heart of the national development strategy. Private enterprises not only create goods, services, and profits, but also generate jobs, budget revenue, industrial capacity, national brands, intellectual property, business culture, and the country’s competitiveness.
Private enterprises are the nation’s leading force in transforming aspirations into practical capabilities.
The aspiration for a prosperous and powerful nation in this era of progress can only become a reality when it is transformed into production capacity, technological capacity, management capacity, and competitiveness. In this process, private enterprises are the direct force that transforms ideas into products, resources into added value, and market opportunities into genuine growth.
A prosperous nation cannot exist without large-scale businesses. Japan has high-quality industrial conglomerates and a network of satellite businesses. South Korea has global technology, automotive, and electronics corporations. Singapore has a transparent institutional ecosystem of service, finance, logistics, and technology businesses. Taiwan has a network of small and medium-sized enterprises deeply involved in the semiconductor, electronics, and supporting industries supply chains.
The general lesson for Vietnam is: To have a strong country, the domestic business system must be strong. To achieve economic self-reliance, domestic businesses must have the capacity to master technology, markets, supply chains, and gradually master brands. Vietnam cannot remain in the position of processing and assembling or dependent on foreign capital. International integration is necessary, but integration must go hand in hand with upgrading domestic capabilities.
This point is also very close to the spirit that many economic experts such as Professor Tran Van Tho and Professor Vu Minh Khuong have emphasized: Vietnam wants to achieve breakthroughs by relying on its internal strength, reforming institutions, improving the quality of human resources, boosting productivity, and creating an environment for businesses to innovate. In other words, a strong private economy is a vivid manifestation of strong national internal strength.
Institutional reforms are a prerequisite for the private sector to thrive.
For Vietnam’s private sector to become the leading driving force, the most important thing is to create a safe, transparent, predictable business environment with low compliance costs. Businesses need protection of property rights, freedom of business, equal competition, and access to legitimate resources such as capital, land, technology, data, human resources, and markets.
Resolution 198/2025/QH15 marked a significant step forward by introducing special mechanisms and policies to support the private sector. Policies on taxes, fees, charges, finance, credit, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises, if implemented synchronously, will create new momentum for the business community.
However, policies are only truly effective when they are implemented. Businesses need fewer conferences but more concrete actions; fewer procedures but more efficient public services; fewer barriers but more opportunities to access markets. The ultimate goal of institutional reform is to unleash productive forces, unlock resources within the population, and encourage people and businesses to invest boldly in the long term.
A service-oriented administration not only helps businesses save costs but also builds trust. When businesses believe that policies are stable, their legitimate rights are protected, and competition is fair, they will dare to invest in technology, human resources, factories, research and development, and branding. Trust, therefore, is a very important type of “soft infrastructure” for growth.
The private sector must take the lead in national innovation and green transformation.
In the coming period, Vietnam’s growth cannot rely solely on expanding investment and labor. As the population begins to age, labor costs rise, and sustainable development requirements become increasingly stringent, the private sector must take the lead in innovation, digital transformation, and green transformation.
Private businesses need to shift from a growth model based on labor-intensive methods to one based on productivity, knowledge, and added value. This requires businesses to invest more heavily in technology, data, automation, artificial intelligence, risk management, ESG standards, energy efficiency, circular economy, and branded product development.
Innovation isn’t just for high-tech companies.
An agricultural enterprise that knows how to use data to manage its growing areas, a logistics company that knows how to optimize transportation routes, a manufacturing company that knows how to automate its production lines, a financial company that knows how to apply technology to improve service quality – all are practical manifestations of innovation.
When hundreds of thousands of businesses upgrade simultaneously, the overall productivity of the economy will increase. As millions of household businesses gradually transition to transparent, data-driven, and financially and market-connected operations, the economy will receive a significant boost from the private sector.
Building a Team of Nation-Building Entrepreneurs
A strong nation needs a strong team of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs in the new era are not only skilled businesspeople, but also individuals with a desire to serve their country, possessing a culture of business integrity, modern management capabilities, and a sense of social responsibility.
Vietnamese entrepreneurs deserve to be properly honored as soldiers on the economic front. But along with that honor comes higher standards. Private businesses that want to grow sustainably must be transparent in their finances, uphold the rule of law, compete fairly, protect the environment, care for their employees, and build their brand on genuine quality.
The development of the private economy should not be measured by short-term assets, but by its capacity to create long-term value for society. A successful business is one that produces good products, creates good jobs, contributes well to the national budget, is well-managed, and has the ability to expand into international markets.
Conclusion: The private sector is the key to unlocking national prosperity and strength.
From domestic development strategies to international success stories, from the need for institutional reform to the nation’s aspiration for progress, all lead to a clear conclusion: Vietnam’s private sector is the key and the main driving force for the nation’s prosperous and powerful development.
If the State can create a transparent, fair, and efficient business environment; if private enterprises dare to innovate, dare to invest long-term, and dare to expand globally; if resources within the people are unlocked and market confidence is strengthened, Vietnam can absolutely create a new development cycle with faster speed, higher quality, and a more sustainable foundation.
The era of national resurgence cannot be defined solely by slogans. That era must be built upon strong businesses, great entrepreneurs, valuable products, reputable Vietnamese brands, and a deeply rooted and robust economy.
When the private sector develops in the right direction, Vietnam will not only have more growth, but also more self-reliance, greater competitiveness, more quality jobs, more budget revenue, and more confidence in the future. This is the path for the country to move closer to its goal of becoming a developed, prosperous, and powerful nation by the middle of the 21st century.
Saigon Ratings [08/06/2026]
