FINANCE FORUM 2026: Strengthening Resources for the Self-Reliance Strategy of Vietnamese Enterprises

Aiming to clarify current difficulties and propose solutions to help businesses identify opportunities and access diverse capital flows, connect resources more effectively, and simultaneously create close coordination between regulatory agencies, localities, and enterprises, contributing to creating momentum for businesses to accelerate and expand investment and business operations, contributing to the high growth target in the coming period, under the direction of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Business Forum Magazine organized the “Finance Forum 2026: Unlocking Capital Flows, Multi-Channel Connection”.

Overview of the Finance Forum 2026: Unlocking Capital Flows and Multi-Channel Connection.

Speaking at the forum, VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong stated that we are in an important pivotal year, the first year after the economic recovery cycle, implementing the strategic objective of achieving an average annual GDP growth rate of double digits in the 2026-2030 period and standing ready to head towards becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045 as set out by the 14th National Congress of the Party.

Realizing Growth Aspirations

According to the 5-year socio-economic development plan for 2026-2030, Vietnam must accelerate strongly to overcome the middle-income trap and transform its growth model based on the foundations of the digital economy, green economy, and circular economy. This is not just a growth aspiration for 1 year or 5 years but a development command for the entire nation in the new decade.

To realize this great aspiration, VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong believed that the Vietnamese entrepreneurial and corporate community, especially the private economic sector, has been affirming significant contributions from its solid position. Private enterprises not only contribute the majority of GDP and create millions of jobs but have also risen to become the pioneering force in innovation, leading many supply chains and shaping the nation's competitive capacity in the international arena.

Throughout the journey of development and contribution of Vietnamese enterprises in general, the Party and the State have always been consistent with constructive policies accompanying businesses. The spirit of Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private sector development determined that the private sector is the most important driving force for growth. Resolution 79-NQ/TW on the development of the state economy emphasizes a constructive, leading, and path-breaking role for high-quality growth.

These policies have been concretized through Decree 20/2026/ND-CP on the development of the private economy; Decision 626/QD-TTg on supporting enterprises to expand into international markets; and the Pioneering Enterprise Development Programs for the 2026-2030 period, Decree 141/2026/ND-CP (supplementing Decree 68/2026/ND-CP and Decree 320/2025/ND-CP), which officially raise the revenue threshold exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT) for business households and individuals... These are continuing to promote the construction and promotion of the role of the Vietnamese entrepreneurial and corporate team.

"Regulatory agencies are making efforts to dismantle institutional bottlenecks and improve the investment and business environment, with the ultimate goal of protecting the legitimate rights and creating the most open development space for enterprises, especially the private economic sector," VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong assessed.

Mr. Hoang Quang Phong - Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), delivered a speech at the Forum.

Also according to VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong, the 2025 private sector report recently announced at the PCI 2.0 event shows that by the end of 2025, the whole country has more than 1 million operating enterprises, an increase of 6.6% compared to 2024. Along with about 6.1 million business households, the private sector currently creates jobs for about 26 million workers, equivalent to 50.2% of the total number of jobs nationwide.

He also stated that in 2025, the number of enterprises entering the market reached a record level of 297,500 enterprises, an increase of 27.4% compared to the previous year. Up to 85.7% of enterprises stated they are maintaining or expanding their operational scale, reflecting a cautious but positive mindset of the business community after the difficult period of 2023 and 2024.

"The Vietnamese private economic sector has passed the defensive phase, is accumulating internal strength, and is ready to break through if bottlenecks in markets, capital, and policy transparency are drastically cleared within the next 12 to 18 months," VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong emphasized.

Returning to the PCI 2.0 report, it also shows that businesses continue to record progress in information transparency, online administrative procedure reform, and the quality of legal institutions. However, the report also reveals concerning bottlenecks: difficulties in finding customers have increased sharply, access to capital remains heavily dependent on collateral, informal costs are still common in many stages of interaction with the public sector, and innovation among private enterprises remains very modest compared to the region and the world. In particular, the business household sector is operating at thin profit margins with a defensive mindset as the dominant trait.

Furthermore, for private enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises to upgrade their scale, invest in core technology, and implement green transformation to meet strict international market standards such as ESG, the demand for medium- and long-term capital is immense.

Conversely, the current capital access picture is exposing major bottlenecks, such as businesses relying too heavily on bank credit capital, while the capacity of the banking system is limited and requires strict collateral.

He argued that market capital channels like corporate bonds and the stock market, though having gone through a phase of restructuring and transparency enhancement, still need depth to serve as a solid launchpad for enterprises. New capital sources from private equity funds, green finance, and international climate finance are abundant, but the technical barriers for private enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, to access them remain too high...

Businesses Need Long-term, Sustainable Capital Flows

VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong also emphasized that 2026-2030 is the period for us to accelerate investment and complete the launchpad for the economy. To invest in climate change adaptation projects and sustainable infrastructure in Vietnam, macro researchers from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimate the investment capital demand to be around 15-17 billion USD per year. In this, the state budget only meets about 30-35% of this demand. Macro researchers from the World Bank also pointed out that resources for this investment goal simultaneously need to enhance the mobilization and participation of the private sector.

Besides infrastructure capital needs, he stated that small, medium, and micro enterprises in Vietnam are also facing a massive credit gap, with the annual financial shortage for small- and medium-sized enterprises reaching billions of USD and a significant portion of businesses having unmet needs.

"Finding the answer to this challenging problem and untangling the capital bottleneck is not just about fueling individual businesses but is a lever for the entire economy in the 2026-2030 period. That is exactly why VCCI decided to direct the Business Forum Magazine to organize the forum "Unlocking Capital Flows, Multi-Channel Connection," VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong stated.

The forum attracted a large number of businesses.

He also expected the Forum to be a space for frank, non-evasive dialogue between policymakers, financial institutions, investment organizations, and the business community. "We sit down here not only to design new, safer, more effective, and more diverse capital channels together; businesses themselves also need to clearly identify how they must enhance transparency and restructure governance to increase their capital absorption capacity", said Mr. Hoang Quang Phong.

"VCCI commits to always standing side-by-side with the business community, synthesizing the most practical initiatives and recommendations from this Forum to send to the Government and relevant Ministries and sectors, aiming to continue perfecting the legal framework, creating a favorable investment and business environment, and unlocking all resources for development," VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong further emphasized.

The Forum witnessed the attendance of Mr. Hoang Quang Phong - Vice President of VCCI; Mr. Nguyen Phi Lan - Director of the Department of Forecasting, Statistics, Monetary and Financial Stability - State Bank of Vietnam; Mr. Trinh Son Hong - Acting Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange; PGS. TS Nguyen Huu Huan - Vice Chairman of the Executive Agency of the Vietnam International Financial Center in HCMC; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Toan - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance; Mr. Tran Ngoc Liem—Director of VCCI Ho Chi Minh City Region Branch; Ms. Nguyen Thi Toai - Chief Representative of the Ministry of Finance Office; Ms. Tran Thi Hai Yen - Director of the Southern Investment Promotion, Information and Support Center, Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Finance); Ms. Huynh Thi Hong Nhung - Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Tay Ninh Province; TS Do Thien Anh Tuan - Senior Lecturer at the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management - Fulbright University; Mr. Le Hoang Chau - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association…

On the side of the organizing committee, there was the attendance of Journalist Pham Hung – Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Head of the Representative Office of the Business Forum Magazine in HCMC; Journalist Nguyen Tien Dung - Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Along with the attendance of representatives from departments and sectors of localities in the region, Associations, enterprises, developers, financial organizations and institutions, investment funds, and investors in HCMC and the Southern region.