VCCI President Ho Sy Hung addresses the release ceremony of the Business Law Report 2025

Strengthening institutions, unlocking resources

Recently, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) released the Business Law Report 2025 under the theme “Strengthening Institutions, Unlocking Resources in the New Era.” This is the ninth consecutive year VCCI has published the annual report, which highlights major developments in the business legal framework and investment environment from the perspective of the business community. The 2025 report reflects both a legislative milestone and a significant shift in institutional thinking.

In 2025, Vietnam recorded strong economic growth, with GDP expanding by approximately 8.02%, placing the country among the region’s leading performers. One of the year’s most notable developments was the introduction of the Politburo’s “strategic quartet of resolutions,” comprising Resolution 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation; Resolution 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the new context; Resolution 66-NQ/TW on reforming lawmaking and law enforcement to meet the country’s development needs in the new era; and Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private sector development.

According to VCCI, these resolutions have driven a clear shift from a management-oriented approach to one focused on enabling development, and from control to fostering innovation and unlocking economic resources. Associate Professor Dr. Ho Sy Hung, President of VCCI, said: “These are truly four pillars that open a new stage of development for Vietnam’s economy, where institutions are no longer merely tools for management and control but are increasingly serving as enablers of development, resource mobilization, and innovation.”

Alongside this shift in thinking, the pace of lawmaking in 2025 reached its highest level in many years. The legislative body also demonstrated a strong commitment to turning these strategic directions into action. In just three sessions, the National Assembly passed 89 laws, nearly three times the number enacted in 2024 and well above the average of previous years. Combined, 2024 and 2025 saw a total of 129 laws enacted or amended, exceeding the total number of laws passed during the previous eight years.

Beyond the increase in volume, the lawmaking process also became significantly faster thanks to a more practical and streamlined legislative approach. A survey of 33 laws directly affecting production and business activities found that the average drafting period had fallen to approximately 221 days. Many legislative projects were completed in just over four months, while some took less than two months. This accelerated process has helped bring reform policies and business support measures into effect more quickly, responding to development needs in the new context.

Another positive trend is the growing use of principle-based, framework legislation, with detailed provisions delegated to the Government and ministries for more flexible implementation. This approach increases the adaptability of the legal system and allows policies to respond more quickly to real-world developments in a rapidly evolving digital economy and emerging business models.

Addressing legal barriers to support businesses

In particular, National Assembly Resolution 206/2025/QH15 on special mechanisms for addressing difficulties and obstacles arising from legal regulations is widely regarded as a landmark breakthrough in lawmaking and governance. For the first time, the Government was granted a special mechanism to address urgent legal bottlenecks without waiting for formal amendments through the conventional legislative process, which often takes years. In less than eight months, 15 resolutions were issued to address issues related to planning, land, minerals, investment, administrative procedures, food safety, data, and social housing.

Dau Anh Tuan, Deputy Secretary General and Director of VCCI’s Legal Department, said the special mechanism reflects a flexible approach that allows policies to keep pace with practical needs while significantly reducing the time required to address issues arising in production and business activities.

These decisions have strengthened business confidence, demonstrating that the institutional framework is becoming more responsive to market developments.

Alongside institutional reform, VCCI’s 2025 report also recorded tangible progress in administrative reform and digital government development. According to the report, 3,085 business regulations were cut or simplified, saving citizens and businesses more than 29,300 days in administrative processing time. In particular, Government Resolution 66.7/2025/NQ-CP on reducing and simplifying administrative procedures through data utilization is considered one of the largest administrative reform initiatives ever undertaken. More than 760 administrative procedures were reviewed, with many application requirements replaced by digital data under the principle that citizens and businesses should not have to resubmit information already held by government agencies.

Close cooperation between the Government and the business community has improved transparency and made public services significantly more accessible. A VCCI survey found that 89.69% of businesses considered online procedures easy to complete, 89.34% said they save time, and 91.18% reported lower costs compared with traditional methods. More than 80% of businesses said they no longer need to make repeated trips or deal with multiple agencies to complete the same administrative procedure.

A particularly notable aspect of the Business Law Report 2025 is its first reference to the concept of the “low-altitude economy.” According to VCCI, this is an area attracting growing attention worldwide as digital technologies, smart logistics, and new business models continue to evolve rapidly. It is not only an emerging technology sector but also a strategic opportunity for Vietnam to explore new drivers of future growth. With appropriate legal frameworks in place, the sector is projected to reach a value of approximately US$10 billion and create around one million high-quality jobs by 2035.

Despite substantial progress, efforts to remove legal barriers for businesses continue to reveal significant gaps and challenges. Of more than 2,088 comments and recommendations received nationwide, approximately 787 cases were identified as genuine issues requiring resolution. Of these, 42% involved unclear or impractical regulations, 36% imposed unnecessary compliance costs, and 22% stemmed from overlaps and inconsistencies among legal documents. Notably, most of these obstacles remain concentrated at the law and decree levels, indicating considerable scope for further institutional reform in the years ahead.

From VCCI’s perspective, the Business Law Report is not only an annual publication that tracks policy developments but also a reflection of the organization’s sustained and substantive engagement in lawmaking and institutional reform. In 2025, VCCI provided feedback on hundreds of legal documents, submitting a total of 568 specific recommendations to drafting agencies. Of these, 53% were accepted, indicating a growing willingness among government agencies to respond to the concerns of the business community. In particular, recommendations aimed at improving the consistency of the legal system achieved an acceptance rate of more than 61%, reflecting significant efforts by drafting agencies to address overlaps and inconsistencies in regulations.