In line with annual practice, the Government has issued Resolution No. 02 on key tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness in 2026.

Persistent reform efforts

The overarching objective of the Resolution is to continue significantly improving the quality of the investment and business environment in line with domestic conditions and global trends, thereby enhancing the country’s standing. It seeks to create a fair and competitive investment and business climate that ensures openness, transparency and stability; reduces compliance costs; aligns with international best practices; encourages innovation and creativity; unlocks productive capacity; mobilises all resources; and generates new drivers for development.

According to Dr Nguyen Minh Thao, Deputy Head of the Department for Enterprise Development and Business Environment (the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Economy and Finance, under the Ministry of Finance), the current Resolution No.02 and the former Resolution No.19 constitute a series of measures reflecting persistent reform efforts and a consistent Government message of accompanying enterprises and improving the business environment.

Over the past year, although Viet Nam has established a relatively comprehensive system of policies and mechanisms to create a favourable legal framework for production and business activities, reality shows that the business environment continues to face numerous new challenges. These difficulties stem not only from internal economic factors but also from external elements, particularly unpredictable policy changes from partner countries. The need to continue internal reforms has therefore become more urgent than ever.

In this context, the issuance of Resolution No.02 is seen as an important “anchor”, helping to reinforce business confidence, enhance resilience to external shocks and create impetus for enterprises to stabilise and expand their domestic operations. The Resolution continues to emphasise policies supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, inheriting and promoting solutions that have been implemented in many localities in recent years.

From a broader perspective, the Resolution No.02 2026 has been promulgated as part of a comprehensive reform programme covering multiple sectors. Accordingly, improving the business environment is no longer limited to facilitating market entry or reducing compliance costs, but is directed towards the higher goal of forming new drivers of growth.

Setting ambitious targets

Whereas previous resolutions set a target of over 10% growth in the number of enterprises entering the market, the coming period is expected to see this figure raised significantly, thereby creating stronger pressure and momentum for reform and driving substantive improvements in the business environment. Accordingly, in 2026, the number of newly established and reactivated enterprises is projected to increase by approximately 15–20% compared with 2025, while the rise in the number of businesses exiting the market will be kept to around 10%.

From the perspective of the business community, Dau Anh Tuan, Deputy Secretary-General and Head of the Legal Department of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the target is practical and consistent with the spirit of Resolution Politburo’s No.68-NQ/TW on private sector development, which aims for around two million active enterprises nationwide by 2030.

However, 2026 is also forecast to be a challenging year. Viet Nam is a highly open economy, heavily reliant on imports and exports, while the international landscape continues to present unpredictable variables. Conflicts among major powers remain unresolved, and numerous geopolitical flashpoints continue to adversely affect trade flows, tourism and global economic growth. Notably, the rise of trade protectionism, coupled with the weakening of global trade institutions, poses significant challenges for countries like Viet Nam that have benefited substantially from trade liberalisation.

Domestically, despite considerable reform efforts, there remain difficulties that will require more time to address. The professionalism and responsiveness of the administrative apparatus cannot be improved overnight; the two-tier local government model also demands greater adaptation and effort in its operation. In addition, enterprises continue to face market pressures and constraints on development resources, particularly access to capital, as forecasts suggest borrowing costs may increase.

In that context, in order to realise the set targets, Dau Anh Tuan stressed that business support measures must be closely tied to the accountability of local authorities. Amid increasingly strong decentralisation and delegation of powers, each locality’s development momentum depends directly on both the quantity and quality of private enterprises operating in its area. The effective implementation of support policies for small, medium-sized and micro enterprises will therefore play a crucial role, not only in encouraging new business formation but also in limiting the number of enterprises exiting the market.

According to Dr Nguyen Minh Thao, alongside the continued need to improve the business environment in a more favourable and transparent direction, building a safe and stable business climate is what the business community particularly expects at present. In the coming period, therefore, in addition to removing existing barriers, greater attention must be paid to ensuring policy stability in order to foster business confidence in long-term investment. At the same time, administrative reform should be accelerated in a more substantive manner, particularly in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, the two localities with the largest concentration of enterprises and the highest volume of administrative procedures. Even modest but meaningful reforms in these urban centres could generate positive spillover effects nationwide.

Moreover, although many localities have strengthened dialogue and responded to business petitions, reform must be carried through to completion and address bottlenecks at their root. Responses should not stop at formalities or administrative paperwork, but should lead to tangible outcomes that resolve the practical difficulties enterprises are facing. It is therefore necessary to further promote thematic dialogues between authorities and businesses, not only at the local level but also within ministries and sectors according to their respective areas of management. This serves as an important channel for promptly identifying shortcomings arising in the implementation of mechanisms and policies.

Alongside the continued refinement of the legal framework, Dr Nguyen Minh Thao emphasised the need to establish a rapid response mechanism to promptly handle conflicts, overlaps or inadequacies that emerge in practice, while strengthening supervision and independent evaluation in policy implementation. “A safe policy environment will reinforce business confidence, enabling enterprises to formulate long-term investment plans and strategies, thereby enhancing stability in production and business activities. This is also an important prerequisite for achieving the target of a 15–20% increase in enterprises entering the market,” Dr Thao underscored.