Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Two million active enterprises by 2030 is an ambitious target for Vietnam. Reaching it will require more than simply adding new businesses to the economy: the country must also build a private sector that is stronger, more resilient and better able to access the capital, technology and markets needed to grow.

The target, set under Politburo Resolution 68 on private sector development, means the country will need to add around 200,000 net active businesses each year over the next five years.

That will be a major challenge, as net business growth did not exceed 100,000 in any year between 2016 and 2025, according to Pham Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Institute of Economics and World Politics.

The challenge is not only to increase the number of businesses but also to improve their quality and resilience.

Vietnam had just over 1 million active businesses in early 2026. Although business formation has accelerated, the corporate sector remains dominated by small firms with limited profitability.

He cited statistics showing that around 70% of businesses have registered capital of less than 10 billion VND (382,000 USD), while more than 81% employ fewer than 10 workers. Average profit margins were only about 2.2% in 2024.

Institutional bottlenecks, limited access to finance, constrained markets and weak innovation capacity remain major barriers to the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Tuan called for differentiated policies based on business size and development stage. Micro enterprises should receive support to formalise their operations, while SMEs need better access to capital, technology and markets. Larger firms, meanwhile, should be encouraged to lead value chains and invest more in research and development.

The reform agenda should also focus on unlocking resources, developing capital markets and creating more channels for businesses to raise medium- and long-term funding, reducing their dependence on bank credit.

Tax policies should encourage investment in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and workforce training to raise productivity and competitiveness, he said.

Access to finance

Access to finance remains one of the biggest challenges.

The Ministry of Finance’s statistics show that SMEs account for nearly 98% of operating businesses but receive only about 20% of total outstanding bank credit. Despite government support programmes, about 70% of SMEs still struggle to obtain bank loans, largely because of a lack of collateral.

Moreover, support funds have yet to deliver the expected results. Strict capital preservation rules have made credit guarantee funds cautious about issuing guarantees, causing guaranteed outstanding loans to steadily decline to about 99.6 billion VND (3.8 million USD) as of August 2024.

To Hoai Nam, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said many businesses had customers, orders and markets but could not expand because they failed to meet lending requirements or access the resources they needed.

"Many businesses have real customers, real orders, real cash flows and real production capacity, but lack standardised data systems for capital markets to properly recognise their value," Nam said.

Nam called for institutional reforms to ensure businesses have equal access to resources such as land, capital, technology and raw materials, while shifting the policy mindset from supporting businesses to creating an enabling environment for their development.

The problem of SME financing has persisted for decades because Vietnam's financial system was largely designed around the needs of larger companies with collateral and transparent financial statements, according to Do Thien Anh Tuan, a lecturer at Fulbright University's School of Public Policy and Management.

The stock market was not a suitable funding channel for most SMEs, while banks continued to rely heavily on collateral-based lending, making many SMEs and household businesses unable to access formal credit, he said.

A fundamental solution would be to restructure the financial system and diversify funding channels instead of relying overwhelmingly on bank credit, he said.

Development-oriented financial institutions such as the Vietnam Development Bank and the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies should play a stronger role through specialised credit programmes for SMEs, while the credit guarantee mechanism should be revised to address governance and accountability constraints that limit its effectiveness, he said.

Vietnam also needed to expand its microfinance network, he said, pointing out that the country currently has only around seven licensed microfinance institutions, a small scale compared to the 5 million non-agricultural household businesses.

Data-driven credit

The Ministry of Finance is also proposing changes to the draft amended Law on Support for SMEs to improve access to credit.

Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, head of the SME division at the Ministry of Finance's Department of Private Enterprise and Collective Economy Development, said the draft law would encourage lenders to shift from collateral-based lending towards assessments based on business data, cash flows and supply chains.

Such changes could expand the credit space available to SMEs and encourage lenders to develop assessment models better suited to smaller businesses, she said.

Mac Quoc Anh, deputy president of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said modern capital increasingly flowed towards businesses with high-quality information.

He said that investors and lenders were looking beyond assets and revenue to assess customer data, orders, cash flows, management capacity, risk controls, legal compliance and growth prospects.

Information and data had become a form of soft infrastructure for capital markets, he said, urging firms to focus more on market analysis tools, management data systems and experience with disclosure standards amid an increasing data-driven capital market.

According to Ha Huy Ngoc, director of the Centre for Strategy and Policy at the Institute of Economics and World Politics, it is necessary to develop a coordinated ecosystem combining transparent laws, flexible policy tools, professional implementation and businesses capable of absorbing support.

Le Thi Yen, Director of Hanoi Tax Consulting Co Ltd, said that policies should classify businesses by size and development stage. Support programmes should be tailored for start-ups, household businesses converting into companies, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as innovative and green businesses and those joining value chains.

Such an approach would make better use of public resources and allow local authorities to design programmes more closely aligned with business conditions in their areas, she said.

Bui Anh Tuan, director of the Ministry of Finance's Department of Private Enterprise and Collective Economy Development, said private businesses wanted a transparent, open and level playing field rather than more preferential treatment.

The priority for 2026-30 should therefore be to effectively implement existing policies rather than simply introduce more new ones, he said.

The goal is not merely to reach a larger number of enterprises, but to build a private sector strong enough to grow, withstand shocks and compete. If Vietnam can create the institutions, funding channels and support systems that allow businesses to develop at different stages, the target of 2 million active enterprises by 2030 could mark not just a numerical milestone, but the emergence of a more resilient engine of growth./.