On the afternoon of August 14, under the direction of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Business Forum Magazine organized the “Business Forum 2026: Removing Bottlenecks to Make the Digital Economy a Growth Driver in the New Era.”

Mr. Bui Trung Nghia, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), speaks at the Business Forum 2026: Removing Bottlenecks to Make the Digital Economy a Growth Driver in the New Era.

Delivering the opening remarks at the Forum, Mr. Bui Trung Nghia, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), emphasized that Vietnam is entering a phase of accelerated strategic development to successfully achieve its goal of becoming a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income status by 2030, and a developed, high-income country by 2045.

Accordingly, the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress identified science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation as key drivers of the new growth model. In addition, the Politburo’s Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in the development of science and technology, innovation and national digital transformation sets a target for the digital economy to account for at least 30% of GDP by 2030. This demonstrates that science and technology and digital transformation are being placed in direct relation to productivity, economic growth and national competitiveness.

Most recently, the Government issued Decision No. 1033/QD-TTg approving the Program for the Development of the Digital Economy and Digital Society for the 2026–2030 period, with the goal of building a dynamic digital economy based on digital platforms, data and artificial intelligence; gradually establishing new modes of production; promoting the transformation of the growth model; enhancing labor productivity; and fostering green and sustainable development.

At the same time, the Program aims to build a civilized, safe and inclusive digital society, ensuring that all citizens can access and benefit from the achievements of science, technology and digital transformation, thereby improving quality of life and people's well-being.

“Closely linked to the national digital transformation process, the digital economy has in recent years affirmed its role as one of the important growth drivers of the economy, contributing to shaping modern productive forces and laying the foundation for Vietnam to achieve breakthrough development in the digital era,” Mr. Bui Trung Nghia stated.

The Business Forum 2026, themed “Removing Bottlenecks to Make the Digital Economy a Growth Driver in the New Era,” was held on August 14 under the direction of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and organized by the Business Forum Magazine.

He further noted that, according to data from the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance, the share of the digital economy’s value added in GDP in 2025 was estimated at 14.02%, equivalent to approximately US$72.1 billion, 1.64 times higher than in 2020. With double-digit growth sustained for many years, Vietnam’s digital economy has risen to become the second largest in Southeast Asia and is now among the world’s fastest-growing digital economies. E-commerce continues to serve as a key pillar, accounting for two-thirds of the digital economy’s total scale.

The Program for the Development of the Digital Economy and Digital Society for the 2026–2030 period sets a target of increasing the digital economy’s share of GDP to approximately 30%; supporting at least 500,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their digital transformation; developing at least five digital technology enterprises on par with those in advanced countries; and developing, promoting and putting into operation at least five data platforms. To achieve these targets, Vietnam needs to develop domestic digital technology enterprises into a core force, promote the leading role of major technology enterprises, and encourage state-owned enterprises to drive innovation and participate in global value chains. Digital technology enterprises should also be encouraged to proactively adopt technical standards on cybersecurity and strengthen coordination, information exchange and information provision with state agencies in accordance with the law.

Business practices show that integrating core digital activities into production and business models can improve labor efficiency by optimizing processes, enhancing information processing capabilities and making more effective use of technology. However, although the business community—with SMEs accounting for approximately 98% of all enterprises—has increasingly recognized the importance of technology adoption and digital transformation, many SMEs continue to face difficulties in accessing credit.

Delegates attending the Forum

“Limited financial resources make it difficult for many businesses to invest in machinery, technology, management software, digital data, cybersecurity, automation, e-commerce, traceability systems and artificial intelligence applications,” Vice President of VCCI emphasized.

He noted that, therefore, the central challenge for Vietnam’s digital economy does not lie in the pace of growth, but in the ability to translate that growth into greater value added, productivity and business competitiveness. To achieve the target set out in Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of having the digital economy account for at least 30% of GDP by 2030 and at least 50% by 2045, as well as to realize the goal of maintaining growth above 10% during 2026–2030, the development of the digital economy needs to be accelerated and made more substantive, generating greater value added through breakthrough innovations.

Mr. Bui Trung Nghia also emphasized that the digital economy is not merely about applying technology to production and business activities, but constitutes a new ecosystem built on data, digital platforms, artificial intelligence and the pace of innovation. In the digital economy, a business’s assets are valued not only in terms of factories and equipment, but increasingly in terms of data, source code, algorithms and customers. These distinctive characteristics, together with the need to improve policies, require, more importantly, a shift in policy thinking toward greater flexibility and practicality.

Such flexibility should be clearly reflected in controlled testing mechanisms within acceptable risk parameters for emerging areas of the digital economy, as well as in support policies for businesses, particularly SMEs, to promote digital transformation, management transformation and access to new growth models.

At the same time, greater efforts are needed to mobilize private-sector resources for the development of digital infrastructure and digital governance projects, which are key to expanding development opportunities and improving the efficiency of the economy.

The Vice President of VCCI particularly emphasized that the digital economy is now present across all sectors and that the foundations for its development are already in place. However, to seize these opportunities, we must act together—faster, more decisively and more creatively—to help the country confidently enter an era of prosperity with double-digit economic growth.

VCCI’s leadership acknowledged and commended the Business Forum Magazine for coordinating with relevant agencies to organize the Business Forum 2026: “Removing Bottlenecks to Make the Digital Economy a Growth Driver in the New Era.”

The Vice President of VCCI expressed his confidence that the Business Forum 2026 would create a space for policy dialogue, sharing practical experience and successful models, and discussing new growth potential and policy space, thereby providing a basis for proposing breakthrough solutions to develop the digital economy in the coming period. Opinions and recommendations from businesses, investors and other participants will also be collected by VCCI and submitted to relevant authorities.