Economic development champions led by the nation's business sector

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with enterprises in Ha Noi on Saturday, marking the 80th National Day. During the meeting, he expressed his hope that the business community will continue to support the Government in implementing policies, contributing to the rapid and sustainable development of the country.

Looking back, Vietnam had a different business landscape in 1986. The country had some 12,000 State-owned firms and nearly 40,000 agricultural cooperatives, but no private enterprises. Fast forward to today, and Vietnam is home to nearly one million businesses, of which 98 per cent are private.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships, including the "public leadership-private management", "public investment - private operation", and "private investment - public use" models. He also urged the business community to strive to overcome difficulties and challenges, proactively innovate business and production models, restructure enterprises, and focus on enhancing management capacity and workforce quality.

The Government is pushing ahead with decentralisation, administrative reform, and compliance cost reduction to ease the burden on companies. Ministries, agencies, and localities need to continue reorganising their structures, effectively operating the two-tier local government model, and accelerating reforms to simplify administrative procedures.

In the first eight months of 2025, an estimated 128,200 new enterprises and 73,855 newly established business households were seen, while 80,800 enterprises resumed operations. Registered FDI capital in the first seven months reached nearly US$24.1 billion, with realised FDI at around $13.6 billion.

The PM encouraged FDI enterprises to collaborate with domestic companies to enhance technology transfer, train high-quality human resources, share management experience, expand markets, and integrate into global value chains.

The business community has been a pioneering force in economic development and social welfare promotion. The Government leader emphasised that businesses have tried their best to sustain operations during natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, notable entrepreneurs like Nguyen Thi Binh have significantly contributed to the development of the private sector and were honored with prestigious awards such as the "Hero of Labor" title by General Secretary To Lam on the 80th National Day.

In the first half of 2025, GDP growth reached 7.52 per cent, the highest for the same period in nearly 20 years. State budget revenues in the first seven months exceeded 80 per cent of the estimate, up nearly 27.8 per cent year-on-year.

The PM urged associations to step up support for businesses and play advisory and feedback roles in improving the legal framework related to business operations. He also emphasized the necessity to effectively implement the Government's action programs to realize the Politburo's policies on science and technology, innovation, national digital transformation, private economic development, and education and training.

By 2045, Vietnam targets at least 3 million enterprises, contributing over 60 per cent of GDP. The PM urged the business community to join forces with the Government, ministries, and local authorities in driving three strategic breakthroughs: open institutions, seamless infrastructure, and smart entrepreneurs.

Over the past eight decades, the business community has accompanied the nation and remained connected to the country's destiny, in both wartime and peacetime. The Party and State always pay special attention to supporting businesses, with a focus on refining institutional and legal frameworks.