Vietnam Shifts Growth Engine Toward The Private Sector

Vietnam Doubles Down on Deep Tech with Trilateral Capital Strategy

Vietnam is advancing a trilateral capital model - uniting government, research institutions, and private investors - to support high-risk, high-reward sectors like AI, semiconductors, and climate tech. This coordinated approach is helping Vietnam move beyond market forces alone, with the state increasingly acting as a limited partner in venture funds.

In artificial intelligence, adoption is accelerating rapidly: by the end of 2025, around 170,000 enterprises had already integrated AI technologies, while private investment in AI startups reached $80 million in 2024, marking an 8-fold increase year-on-year. The semiconductor sector is also seeing growth, now home to over 50 design firms and 7,000 engineers. In climate tech, spurred by Vietnam’s Net Zero targets and the upcoming carbon credit exchange in 2026, VC allocation has risen to twice the global average.

However, this progress is not without challenges. Vietnam ranks 44th globally on the Global Innovation Index, yet only 70th in human capital. An estimated 65% of Vietnamese tech professionals work overseas, creating shortages in R&D talent and mentorship. This talent gap threatens to undercut innovation at home, even as capital flows improve.

Vietnam is formalizing a tripartite model aligning public de-risking with private discipline to solve capital coordination. Explosive AI funding growth ($80M) and high climate tech allocation show investor confidence in Vietnam's green and digital transformation. However, a structural paradox exists: Vietnam is innovative but struggles to retain human capital for core technology development. Success depends on mobilizing the overseas diaspora as an active pillar of the domestic startup ecosystem, not just trilateral capital.

Vietnam’s Private Sector Rises as Main Engine of Growth Post-Resolution 68

Eight months after the rollout of Resolution 68, Vietnam is seeing a record surge in business activity. On average, the country is registering around 18,000 new enterprises each month, bringing the total number of businesses to nearly 1.1 million nationwide. This marks a major shift in Vietnam’s economic structure, where the private sector is stepping up as the central force behind growth. In 2025 alone, private capital contributed over 74.6%, equivalent to 197.6 billion USD, of total investment in key national projects.

Resolution 68 is part of a broader government effort to turn long-term Party visions into real-world outcomes. The focus has moved beyond encouraging private enterprise to actually building systems that support it through legal reforms, clearer roles for ministries, and stronger involvement of businesses in policymaking. This has fueled confidence in the private sector’s ability to handle large-scale, complex projects and lead innovation.

Eight months after Resolution 68, Vietnam's economy is undergoing structural transformation. The private sector now serves as the primary growth engine for double-digit targets starting in 2026 - no longer just a "supplementary force." Business confidence is clear: registrations are rising, and private funding accounts for nearly 75% of national strategic projects. The government's focus on substantive action signals the next phase will institutionalize these gains through legal reforms and specialized infrastructure to sustain entrepreneurial momentum. If this continues, Vietnam's private sector is poised to evolve from growth participant to primary architect of the country's next development cycle.

How Resolution 68 Is Reshaping VC Strategy in Vietnam

Vietnam’s 2025 policy reforms are beginning to change not just the startup landscape, but how venture capital firms approach investment decisions. According to Hoang Thi Kim Dzung, Vietnam Country Director at Genesia Ventures, Resolution 68 is emerging as a central pillar shaping new VC strategies. A key shift lies in how “soft assets” are treated. Under the new policy direction, banks are increasingly allowed to assess startups based on data quality and predictable cash flows, rather than relying solely on physical collateral. This effectively makes stable revenue streams bankable, opening access to credit for startups that were previously dependent almost entirely on equity funding.

As a result, Genesia has adjusted its investment focus toward startups with strong cash-flow engines and clearer paths to non-dilutive financing. Instead of prioritizing growth at all costs, the firm now looks for companies that can combine scale with financial discipline. This shift is reinforced through closer VC–bank partnerships. Genesia has already established cooperation with commercial banks such as OCB, creating additional financing channels for startups beyond traditional venture rounds. These partnerships reflect a broader trend where venture capital and banking begin to complement each other, especially as policy reduces the perceived risk of lending to technology companies.

The 2025 policies fundamentally reshape Vietnam's tech ecosystem by elevating the private sector and introducing aggressive R&D incentives. However, a gap remains between policy ambition and execution. To activate a sustainable capital cycle, Vietnam must simplify administrative procedures and address the structural challenges mentioned above, ensuring they align with the global reality of high-growth technology ventures.

Vietnam Sets Bold Course with Launch of International Financial Center

Vietnam has officially launched its first International Financial Center (IFC), with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announcing the initiative on December 21, 2025. This marks a significant turning point after four decades of Đổi Mới reforms, reflecting Vietnam's long-term ambition to integrate more deeply with the global financial system. Rather than replicating existing models, the country is pursuing a differentiated approach, building a unified financial ecosystem tailored to its development goals instead of directly competing with regional hubs.

The IFC is expected to unlock large-scale, low-cost capital for strategic projects, easing pressure on public debt while improving capital efficiency. It also provides a platform for Vietnamese businesses to access international governance standards, expand into global markets, and adopt advanced financial practices. Crucially, this move goes hand-in-hand with institutional reforms aimed at transparency, risk governance, and digitalization, balancing financial openness with strong regulatory oversight.

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