Working Collaboratively to Drive Private Economic Development

Fostering a movement and trend to "Make the Entire Nation One Army" in private economic development was the directive of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the National Steering Committee for implementing the Politburo's Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private economic development, at the recently held first meeting of the committee.

Reports and opinions at the meeting assessed that Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private economic development is one of four "pillar" resolutions of the Politburo, which hold significance for the country's development in the coming time.

Resolutions of the Politburo, the National Assembly, and the Government are consistent, comprehensive, and implemented in a drastic, methodical, scientific manner and garnered special attention and strong support from society, Vietnamese associations and businesses, and international opinions.

Less than two weeks after General Secretary To Lam signed and issued Resolution 68-NQ/TW dated May 16, 2025, the Government swiftly directed the construction and promulgation of Resolution 138/NQ-CP on the Government's Action Plan for implementation of Resolution 68.

The Government reported to the National Assembly for the adoption of Resolution 198/2025/QH15 on special mechanisms and policies for private economic development at its 9th plenary meeting, which focused on institutionalizing urgent and clearly defined solutions. At the same time, the Government issued Resolution 139 on the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Assembly's Resolution 198.

On May 18, 2025, the Politburo and the Party Central Secretariat summoned an online national conference to thoroughly understand and implement this resolution (along with Resolution 66-NQ/TW on renovation in lawmaking and enforcement) at all levels of Party committees.

On May 30, 2025, the Prime Minister issued a decision on establishment of the National Steering Committee for the implementation of Resolution 68. On May 31, 2025, he chaired a direct dialogue with businesses, cooperatives, and business households to seek the effective enforcement of Resolution 68.

Vietnamese private enterprises are gradually strengthening their position in both regional and global markets

Record-breaking milestones in business formations

At the meeting, the Ministry of Finance - the standing body of the Steering Committee - reported on how Resolution 68 has been implemented. Delegates reviewed the performance of tasks and solutions regarding action plans of the Government and relevant central and local agencies. They also discussed the achieved results, remaining limitations, and their causes.

Delegates also delved into assessing the level of trust among businesses and society in enacting the resolution. They figured out institutional and legal barriers that need to be removed, reviewed administrative procedure reform, improved the business investment environment, and decentralized power in addition to allocating resources and strengthening inspection and supervision. They proposed solutions to meet practical demands and identified key tasks for the last six months of 2025.

According to the reports and opinions at the meeting, as of the end of July, 34 out of 63 provinces and cities before their administrative mergers (accounting for nearly 54%) and 16 out of 34 provinces and cities after administrative mergers (over 47%), along with 21 ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies, had launched action plans for the implementation of the resolution.

According to the draft proposed plan, ministries are expected to reduce or simplify 2,762 out of 4,888 administrative procedures (about 56.5%) and remove 1,773 out of 7,806 business conditions (about 22.7%). As of June 30, 2025, as many as 872 administrative procedures and 118 business conditions had been abolished or streamlined.

Most notably, the Ministry of Finance assessed that the most significant impact after the three-month enforcement of the resolution was an extremely positive shift and remarkable change in the mindset and perception of the entire society regarding private economic development.

Many industry associations and businesses believed that Resolution 68-NQ/TW has truly inspired the entrepreneurial spirit, providing businesses with a sense of support and recognition. The spirit of entrepreneurship is at an all-time high, with the number of newly established businesses and business households and those resuming operations reaching record levels. A strong wave of startups is emerging.

In June 2025, a historic milestone was reached as the number of new business formations exceeded 24,400, an increase of 60.5% compared to the same period in 2024 and double the average for the 2021-2024 period. In July 2025, the country saw more than 16,500 new businesses registered, bringing the total for the first seven months of the year to 107,700, an increase of 10.6%. The additional capital of active businesses was over VND2.4 quadrillion, an increase of over 186% compared to the corresponding period in 2024.

In July 2025, as many as 61,460 new business households were established with a registered capital of VND12.4 trillion, bringing the total number of new business households to nearly 536,200 in the first seven months, up 165% year on year.

In the first six months of 2025, nearly 13,700 business households that paid flat-rate taxes switched to the declaration method, and nearly 1,480 business households converted into corporate entities.

The January-July period also saw over 66,300 businesses resuming operations, an increase of nearly 50% from the same period of last year. In July alone, nearly 15,000 companies resumed operations, representing a year-on-year growth of over 78%.

As of the end of July 2025, nearly 56,700 business households had registered to use electronic invoices generated from cash registers, exceeding the plan by more than 150%.

Many administrative procedures and business conditions are being significantly streamlined to facilitate the development of private enterprises

The ultimate measure is the contributory effect of businesses

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted outstanding points and positive results in the implementation of Resolution 68: More innovative thinking and more determined actions; diffused trust; more institutional and policy frameworks issued to focus on resolving hardships against businesses; more new businesses formed; and large national projects boldly proposed by giant firms, including railways, nuclear power, expressways, airports, and seaports.

In addition, three strategic breakthroughs (institutions, infrastructure, and human resources) have been accelerated in support of business development. The three levels of government (central, provincial, and local) are reducing administrative procedures and compliance costs, making things more convenient for people and businesses. Public-private partnerships (PPP) have been promoted with the amended Law on PPP Investment. Ministries and central agencies are coordinating more closely to tackle business problems.

However, Prime Minister Chinh also acknowledged that overall progress remains slower than required, particularly in mechanisms and policies that support stronger, faster, and more efficient business development. Administrative procedures and decentralization remain entangled at both central and local levels. Support resources in terms of policy, mechanisms, and finances are still limited.

Looking ahead, he requested that the goals set out in the resolutions of the Politburo, the National Assembly, and the Government be steadfastly adhered to, adapted to specific circumstances and conditions, and meet the demands of businesses. The overall goal is to make the private sector the most important driving force of the economy.

Citing 15 specific groups of tasks and solutions, he directed continued strengthening of awareness, changing of mindset, and more determined and vigorous action to motivate, inspire, and foster a movement and a trend for private economic development in the new context. This would diffuse trust among the people, businesses, and international friends.

Ministries and central agencies will continue to promote the settlement of institutional bottlenecks; review, amend, and supplement laws, decrees, and circulars relating to taxes, fees, land access, resources, minerals, interest rate support, human resource training, administrative penalties for competition, science and technology, and digital transformation among others. The goal is to turn institutions into a competitive advantage.

The Office of the Government will develop a roadmap for removing administrative procedures and reducing the time and cost of their implementation while also accelerating decentralization to localities in handling administrative procedures.

Localities will supplement and finalize plans for developing new projects, and publicly call for investors to have equal, open, and transparent access.

The Prime Minister requested a stronger push for the three strategic breakthroughs: Institutions must be more open to slash compliance costs, infrastructure must be seamless to reduce input costs and create new development spaces and added value, and human resources must be trained to meet companies' transformation requirements. There must be a mechanism to mobilize preferential capital for private businesses, especially for the development of science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation in accordance with Resolution 57 of the Politburo.

The Ministry of Finance is tasked with building a group of policies to support small and medium-sized businesses and business households regarding taxes and tax processes, connecting taxes, and encouraging business households to become businesses, SMEs to become large businesses, and large businesses to become global and multinational corporations. The ministry is also assigned to construct an infrastructure support mechanism (with respect to electricity, land rent, fees, and charges).

Prime Minister Chinh also requested the construction of public and business satisfaction assessment criteria as well as public and business service measuring and reporting criteria. The Ministry of Home Affairs will provide guidance and propose emulations and commendations on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of National Day and Vietnamese Entrepreneurs' Day (October 13).

He directed that 18 out of 34 provinces and cities that have not yet developed action plans for the implementation of the resolution must do so. At the same time, the Private Economic Development Research Board under the Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform will continue to monitor and assess the implementation of the resolution, ensuring the accuracy of information and saying no to sugarcoating or distortion.

Emphasizing the heavy workload for the remainder of the year, he urged all ministries, central agencies, and localities to uphold responsibility, intensify inspection and supervision, and ensure that each level resolves its own tasks.

At the same time, it is necessary to boost dialogues and listen to the opinions of each other and to the engagement of businesses, business households, and the people in building institutional frameworks and policies. A supervisory mechanism will be established, and the oversight of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and other political and social organizations will be enhanced. A plan to supervise localities will also be launched.

Assigning the Ministry of Finance to build an implementation plan from now until the end of the year, Prime Minister Chinh urged all stakeholders and members of the Steering Committee to uphold responsibility, solidarity, and unity, working together so that the entire country acts as one cohesive force, advancing toward the goal with urgency and determination, where every effort leads to success, and every success is assured, while meeting both immediate and long-term development needs. He called for a more urgent, comprehensive, and effective implementation of the tasks and solutions set out in the resolutions, aiming to “turn nothing into something, transform challenges into opportunities, and make the impossible possible.” He emphasized, “Resources come from mindset, motivation comes from innovation and creativity, and strength comes from the people and businesses.”

The Prime Minister stressed the need for a substantive and decisive implementation. "What has been said must be done, what has been committed must be fulfilled, and what has been done must produce results." Implementation should be organized in the spirit of "six clears": clear on the person, clear on the task, clear on the responsibility, clear on the time, clear on the product, and clear on the supervision. This approach aims to bring the resolution to life and foster a movement and trend where the ultimate goal is the contribution of the private sector to socioeconomic development, making a greater and higher contribution to GDP, obtaining breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and labor productivity growth, to advance into a new era with the entire nation.

By Duy Anh, Vietnam Business Forum