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Tapping into the private sector's untapped resources

Vietnamese Government Plans to Make Private Industry a Key Driver for Nationwide Equal Growth

"Tapping into the Power of Business Sectors" or "Expanding Business Potential for Greater Success"
"Tapping into the Power of Business Sectors" or "Expanding Business Potential for Greater Success"

Tapping into the private sector's untapped resources

Vietnam's Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW Empowers Private Sector for Economic Growth

Vietnam's Politburo has issued a pivotal policy, Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW, aiming to empower the private sector as the leading force in the national economy. This resolution, announced on May 4, 2025, is designed to drive robust economic growth by improving institutional quality, ensuring private sector rights, and fostering a fair and conducive business environment.

The main details and effects of Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW include institutional reforms, equal treatment across sectors, simplification and digital transformation, protection of rights, private sector development support, strategic economic focus, performance monitoring and communication, economic growth targets, and concrete government actions.

Institutional reforms involve shifting the government’s role from control to facilitation, removing regulatory barriers, eliminating corruption practices, and prohibiting local protectionism. Legal documents are to be reviewed and amended to remove redundant business conditions and overlapping regulations that hinder private enterprise development.

Equal treatment across sectors ensures non-discriminatory access to capital, land, technology, labor, and data for private enterprises, state-owned companies, and foreign-invested firms, leveling the playing field.

Simplification and digital transformation aim to accelerate digitalization, reduce administrative burdens, cut compliance costs, and improve transparency. There will be efforts to streamline administrative procedures, decentralize authority to local governments, and limit enterprise inspections to no more than once annually unless violations are detected.

Protection of rights strengthens protections for ownership, business freedom, property rights, and contract enforcement. Responsibilities and liabilities of enterprises will be clearly distinguished (criminal, administrative, civil).

Private sector development support involves improving enterprise support policies by simplifying procedures, increasing resource availability, and encouraging collaborations with associations and research institutions to foster innovation and growth.

Strategic economic focus encourages private sector leadership particularly in high-growth sectors, including renewable energy, green infrastructure, technology, and transport. This includes promoting public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects traditionally dominated by state-owned firms.

Performance monitoring and communication establishes monitoring tools such as a Private Sector Performance Index and the “Vietnam Private Sector Panorama” platform to track progress, raise awareness, and inspire wealth creation movements. This enhances dialogue between government and private businesses to ensure effective implementation and visible results.

Economic growth targets underpin ambitious growth goals––an 8.5% GDP increase in 2025 and continued double-digit growth, positioning the private sector as essential to achieving these targets through greater innovation, engagement, and integration into global value chains.

Concrete government actions include the Prime Minister outlining 15 specific task groups to realize Resolution 68, including resolving institutional bottlenecks, amending related laws on taxes, fees, land access, and digital transformation, and ensuring localities create action plans for implementation, all supporting the transformation of institutional frameworks into competitive advantages.

The UNDP supports the strategic direction outlined in Resolution 68, committing to partnering with Vietnam's private sector to strengthen capacity, promote inclusive and sustainable business models, and expand access to innovative finance. The UNDP believes that private sector-led innovation can support improving HDI outcomes, with advances in education, healthcare, and social protection led and supported by businesses laying the foundation for more equitable and inclusive development.

Resolution 68 positions private enterprises at the center of Vietnam's transition towards a green, circular, and sustainable economy, aligning with the country's national development goals and international commitments. Globally, blended finance has mobilized significant private capital flows for sustainable businesses, and Vietnam can draw lessons from successful ASEAN models like Singapore's Financing Asia's Transition Partnership and Indonesia's SDG One Fund.

Encouraging enterprises to invest in social impact, adopt emission-limiting technologies, and use resources efficiently will create economic, social, and environmental value, and help enterprises integrate into global supply chains. Resolution 68 promotes blended finance, combining public funds with private and international investment to reduce risk for investors and scale up social and environmental impact business initiatives.

Resolutions 68 and 198 broaden the role of SMEDF, allowing for startup loans, seed capital, or co-financing models that combine public and international/private resources. The Canada-funded ISEE-COVID project fosters business models that combine economic growth with environmental sustainability and social inclusion, creating decent jobs for women, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities.

In summary, Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW represents a comprehensive and strategic effort by Vietnam’s leadership to transform the private sector into the primary engine for economic development by fostering fair competition, reducing bureaucracy, protecting business rights, and incentivizing innovation and investment—especially in emerging industries—while instituting rigorous monitoring and supportive government policies to ensure effective progress.

Financing plays a crucial role in Vietnam's private sector development as the Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW encourages the use of blended finance, combining public funds with private and international investment, to reduce risk for investors and scale up social and environmental impact business initiatives.

The strategic direction outlined in Resolution 68, supported by the UNDP, aims to promote inclusive and sustainable business models, and expand access to innovative finance, which can help businesses in Vietnam integrate into global value chains and contribute to economic growth.

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