The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on May 15 released the Vietnam Private Economy Report 2025 alongside the Provincial Competitiveness Index 2025 (PCI 2025).
Speaking at the launch ceremony, VCCI chairman Ho Sy Hung said the report came at a significant moment as Vietnam aims to achieve double-digit GDP growth from 2026 onwards.
VCCI chairman Ho Sy Hung speaks at the launch ceremony (Photo: Duong Dung).
A major highlight this year was the introduction of PCI 2.0, an upgraded version of the provincial competitiveness index designed to assess governance quality within Vietnam’s newly reorganised administrative framework of 34 provinces and cities.
According to Hung, PCI 2.0 expands its focus beyond the traditional business environment to evaluate the broader ecosystem supporting private sector development.
The updated index measures core indicators including transparency, informal costs and the effectiveness of local administrations. Results showed that Bac Ninh, Danang, Haiphong, Phu Tho and Quang Ninh ranked among the top-performing localities for governance quality.
Alongside PCI, the newly introduced Business Performance Index (BPI) identified Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Quang Ninh as leading centres for business efficiency and innovation capacity.
“A good business environment should not only be measured by licensing speed, but by whether companies can survive, generate profits and move up the value chain,” Hung said.
Dau Anh Tuan, deputy secretary general and head of VCCI’s legal department, said Vietnam’s private business sector remained large in number but weak in overall strength.
Dau Anh Tuan, VCCI deputy secretary-general and head of its legal department, speaks at the event (Photo: Duong Dung).
The report showed the private sector accounts for 96.6 per cent of all active businesses in Vietnam, with more than one million enterprises operating nationwide. Despite being considered the backbone of the economy, many firms remain financially fragile.
More than 80 per cent of businesses employ fewer than 50 workers, while over 70 per cent have registered capital below VND 10 billion (approximately USD 385,000). The dominance of small and micro-sized enterprises leaves the sector vulnerable to market shocks.
Business sentiment in 2025 also reflected caution, with only 30.9 per cent of companies planning to expand operations, while 54.8 per cent intended to maintain their current scale as they monitored market conditions.
The report identified three major obstacles facing businesses: limited market demand, restricted access to finance due to insufficient collateral and the unpredictability of the legal and policy environment.
It also warned of weaknesses in innovation and corporate governance. Only 8.8 per cent of companies reported introducing product innovation, while 92.6 per cent continued to operate under family-run ownership structures lacking professional management systems.
Nguyen Duy Hung, a board member of Tan Hiep Phat Group, said stronger institutional support was essential for the private sector to develop sustainably.
“What businesses need most is not preferential treatment,” Hung said. “They need a stable, predictable, transparent and fair environment. They need business rights and property rights to be protected, simpler administrative procedures and effective policy implementation from central to local government.”
