“Since the Politburo’s Resolution on private economic development was issued, small businesses like ours have had opportunities to take part in bidding and compete based on committed service quality. In the past, small enterprises were almost excluded. Everything has become much more open following the issuance of Resolution 68.”

“I believe the Politburo’s Resolution 68 brings more opportunities than challenges. We must seize these opportunities to integrate into the new context. Private enterprises will create strong momentum for the national economy in the time ahead.”

“We have strong confidence in the Party and State’s policies across areas affecting businesses, such as land access, administrative procedures, credit, science, and technology. When enterprises benefit from these policies, it will generate development momentum.”

These views from entrepreneurs reflect the expectations of Vietnam’s business community for recent policy decisions that identify the private economy as a most important driver of growth. This confidence is the outcome of a 40-year process of renewing economic thinking, refining awareness, and affirming the central role of the private sector in national development.

Since the 6th National Party Congress, the private economy has been recognized as a component of the multi-sector economy. The 9th, 10th, and 11th Congresses encouraged it to develop, increasingly affirming its role in mobilizing social resources. At the 12th National Party Congress, the private economy was identified for the first time as an important driver of growth. By the 13th Congress, it was confirmed as one of the most important drivers of the national economy. Resolution 68 marked a major breakthrough in perception, decisively affirming the central role of the private economy in promoting growth and sustainable development.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Hai, a Vietnamese national in Australia, Senior Lecturer at VinUniversity, and Fulbright Scholar at American University of the US, said this new mindset is a very strong shift. “The private economy is elevated by the Resolution and is now considered equal to the State economy and other economic sectors as a most important driver of the economy. This is critically important,” said Hai.

He expressed his belief that this change stems from Vietnam’s development needs and added, “When a certain threshold is reached, change becomes essential; otherwise, growth stalls or even recedes. The change also reflects regional and global transformations.”

The shift from merely “allowing development” to “taking the initiative in creating space for development,” with the State acting as a facilitator by removing institutional bottlenecks and facilitating access to resources, has given private enterprises greater confidence and motivation to innovate and expand. As a result, a number of large private corporations have emerged, mastered advanced technologies, and invested in sectors once dominated by the State, such as transportation infrastructure, energy, logistics, processing, manufacturing, and high-tech.

Mai Huu Tin, Chairman and CEO of U&I Group and member of the Private Economic Development Research Board, said, “Every industry needs enterprises that aspire to build and truly develop that industry. They can’t do it alone; they must create an ecosystem within each sector.”

“These ecosystems connect medium-sized, small, and micro enterprises, enabling them to contribute collectively to industry development. This forms the basis for our expectation of sustaining double-digit annual economic growth over many years,” Tin noted.

With Vietnam entering a new development phase, the private economy continues to be affirmed as a most important growth driver. Vietnam aims to build a strong cohort of large-scale enterprises on a par with leading regional and global players, and capable of greater participation in global value chains.