On the occasion of the annual meeting between the Prime Minister and enterprises organized by the Government Office and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in early February, Vietnam Business Forum of VCCI would like to introduce excerpts of the important speech by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on the development pace of Vietnam’s business community in recent years.
The business community and business people of Vietnam in recent years have remarked on important progresses, creating a new momentum for the implementation of heavy tasks set for the next five years: reaching a higher and more sustainable economic growth together with human resource development, and escaping early from the current situation of a low-income, developing country.
The number of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been reduced after being restructured and but still account for a large ratio in GDP, budget revenues, export value and international cooperation. However, the business effectiveness of these enterprises is still low and they have not yet matched it with their resources, potential, and the requirements of the renovation process.
The private economic sector has developed strongly. Towards the end of 2005, Vietnam had more than 200,000 private enterprises, four times higher than that in 2000, 2.5 million non-farming business households and nearly 11 million farming households engaging in production of goods. The sector has played an important role in improving the living standard of farmers and the country’s social and political stability by contributing 39 per cent to GDP and 32 per cent to total social investment, and using more than 90 per cent of the labour force. Despite these strong points, they have faced small scale, backward technologies, poor management skills, and low competitiveness.
It is expected that in the coming time the 10th Party Congress will decide to allow party members to do business in all industries and the move will be a driving force for private economic development, creating a breakthrough for the economy.
From 1987, when the Foreign Investment Law was issued in 2005, Vietnam attracted nearly 6,000 valid projects with total registered capital of over US$51 billion and total realized capital of US$34 billion. Foreign-invested enterprises have accounted for nearly 18 per cent of the total social investment, partly enhancing the use of other capital sources, contributing over 16 per cent to GDP and 50 per cent to the country’s export value. In particular, they have paid important contributions to urban and rural development, economic restructure, modern technology transfer, advanced management experience, international relation expansion, and international integration.
In the speech, the Prime Minister pointed out a clear lesson for business development. Localities, which strictly apply the policies and orientations of the State, pay special attention to guiding and supervising their activities, and creating a favourable business environment for all kinds of private enterprises in order to develop, will gain developed enterprises and prosperity. Results of the provincial competitiveness initiative survey conducted by VCCI in 2005 in 42 provinces and cities showed clear evidence of this, in which Binh Duong province and Danang city were selected as the best in creating an environment for investment and business development.
April 24–25, 2026
Kinh Bac Cultural Center, Bac Ninh Province
Vietnamese
