Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s strong performance in high-tech exports contrasts with its limited capacity to create and capture value from technology, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII).
Promoting the development of strategic technologies and products is expected to strengthen national innovation capacity and lay the groundwork for improving the country’s GII ranking in the coming years.
Identifying weaknesses
The 2025 and 2026 GII reports show that Vietnam continued to rank first globally in the share of high-tech exports and creative goods in total trade.
According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, a considerable number of Vietnamese businesses are involved in strategic technologies and products, generating combined revenues worth tens of billions of US dollars. However, most of this revenue comes from foreign-invested enterprises. Domestic businesses account for around one-quarter of the total number but contribute only a small share of revenue. This indicates that while Vietnam has become a major high-tech manufacturing hub, Vietnamese enterprises remain in relatively low positions in global value chains.
Meanwhile, business investment in research and development (R&D) has been increasing. In 2023, enterprises spent approximately 33.3 trillion VND (1.3 billion USD) on R&D, significantly more than other sectors. Experts consider the country's expanding high-tech manufacturing base and rising business investment in research favourable conditions for developing strategic technologies.
Nevertheless, several indicators in the 2026 GII report highlight persistent weaknesses. Vietnam ranked 110th in intellectual property receipts, 100th in high-skilled employment, which accounts for only around 11% of total employment, and 79th in the human capital and research pillar. These figures reveal a gap between Vietnam's deep integration into global technology supply chains and its capacity to generate and capture value from technology and intellectual assets.
Closing this gap requires a shift from processing and assembly towards designing, mastering, owning and commercialising technologies. Vietnam's R&D expenditure currently stands at around 0.4% of GDP. Raising this figure to 2% of GDP, as targeted by Politburo Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation, will be a major challenge requiring contributions from society as a whole, particularly the business sector.
Measures to improve innovation performance
Chu Thuc Dat, Deputy Director of the State Agency of Technology and Innovation under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said enterprises are permitted to establish, manage and use science and technology development funds to conduct or commission research, invest in research infrastructure, acquire technologies and intellectual property, purchase equipment and software, train personnel, cooperate in research and invest in innovative start-ups. Lawful grants and direct expenditures by enterprises on science, technology and innovation activities are also deductible when calculating taxable income.
Experts stressed that achieving the 2%-of-GDP R&D target cannot rely solely on State budget allocations. Instead, mechanisms are needed to encourage greater business investment while sharing risks.
The ministry said the strategic technology programme directly addresses several of Vietnam's weakest GII indicators. Mastering core technologies, registering and commercialising patents will increase intellectual property revenues; developing strong research teams and engineering design capabilities will strengthen human capital and research capacity; greater State and business investment will improve R&D indicators; and closer cooperation among research institutes, universities and enterprises will enhance innovation linkages.
As of October 19, the ministry had completed the appraisal of all 29 proposals for strategic technology and strategic technology product development tasks in the first phase. Of these, 17 had been approved by ministries and sectors, with proposed funding totalling 2.31 trillion VND, including 34.5% from non-State and socialised sources. The ministry had also received and processed 53 new proposals from organisations, research institutes, universities and businesses, while reviewing major technological challenges submitted by provinces and cities.
Short-term tasks are expected to take 18–24 months, while long-term ones will span 36–60 months. If implementation begins in late 2026 and proceeds on schedule, the first strategic technologies and products could emerge in 2028.
Ultimately, the programme's success will be measured not simply by the number of projects completed, but by the ability to master technologies, establish new industries and value chains, and generate breakthroughs in socio-economic development, national defence and security./.
VNA
