HCM City (VNA) – The European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam on January 13 released the Q4/2025 edition of its Business Confidence Index (BCI), which climbed to 80 points, the highest level recorded in the past seven years.
The result marks a clear and sustained recovery in business sentiment among European enterprises in Vietnam, even as the global economic environment continues to face significant uncertainties.
After several years affected by global volatility and disruptions, the Q4/2025 BCI indicates that European business sentiment in Vietnam has returned firmly to positive growth territory, surpassing levels seen prior to US tariff announcements and even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, 65% of surveyed companies assessed their current business conditions as positive in Q4/2025, with the figure rising to 69% when looking ahead to Q1/2026, suggesting that optimism is set to strengthen further as the new year begins.
The survey shows that 60% of businesses reported improved performance compared with 2024, while 82% expect their business results to continue improving in 2026. Beyond short-term confidence, the Q4/2025 BCI also reflects particularly strong medium-term optimism, with more than 88% of respondents expressing a positive outlook for Vietnam over the 2026–2030 period, including 31% who described themselves as “very optimistic.”
European enterprises believe that Vietnam’s current growth momentum is not temporary but rests on solid foundations for sustained development. This confidence is underscored by the fact that 87% of respondents said they would recommend Vietnam as an investment destination to other foreign businesses, with the highest confidence levels reported among large-scale companies.
This shift closely mirrors Vietnam’s macroeconomic trajectory. GDP growth in Q4/2025 reached 8.46% (the fastest quarterly expansion since Q4/2007) and exceeded projections from major international institutions. “Our latest BCI confirms what many of us have felt intuitively,” said EuroCham Chairman Bruno Jaspaert. “After years of hovering around the mid-line, reaching 80 tells us that confidence is now grounded in delivery – in factories running, orders returning, and investments being executed. We are seeing a structural shift where Vietnam is quickly transforming itself into a powerful growth engine, on track to rank among the top three economies in ASEAN.”
Xavier Depouilly, General Manager of DXL Research and Consulting, noted: “Despite global challenges, European businesses remain highly confident about Vietnam. However, we see a distinct divergence in resilience. While large multinational corporations are capitalising on their scale to double down on the long term, SMEs are operating without the same buffers against external shocks. Smaller firms are disproportionately exposed to volatility, forcing them to prioritise immediate revenue and survival rather than the broad expansion we see at the top of the market.”
With confidence strengthening, European enterprises are entering 2026 with clearer strategic priorities. Expanding operations and diversifying investment portfolios were cited by 50% of respondents as top priorities, while 45% emphasised recruitment and talent retention, reflecting ongoing pressure on high-quality human resources. At the same time, 41% prioritised greater adoption of technology, automation, and artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency, productivity, and long-term competitiveness.
The BCI results also show that businesses are acknowledging stronger government efforts, from large-scale infrastructure projects announced in December last year to resolutions aimed at simplifying and digitising administrative procedures. Looking ahead 12–18 months, infrastructure development and public investment are expected to be key growth drivers, particularly for construction, trade, logistics, and consumer-oriented sectors.
EuroCham reaffirmed its commitment to continue advocating reforms in 2026, focusing on “strategic priorities – must-win battles,” to help remove remaining bottlenecks and deliver tangible benefits for both small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and multinational corporations operating in Vietnam./.
VNA
