Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – As Vietnam enters a new phase of growth-model transformation, with a focus on improving productivity, added value and competitiveness towards its goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045, the UK business community sees room for bilateral cooperation to expand beyond trade and investment into technology, innovation, human resources and capital market development.
Matt Ryland, Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (BritCham Vietnam), said bilateral trade reached 10 billion GBP (13.2 billion USD) in the 12 months to the end of March 2026, up 8.8% year-on-year. The growth has been underpinned by the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in October 2025.
Ryland said the positive results demonstrate strong momentum in bilateral trade and investment, and create greater room for UK businesses to accompany Vietnam’s development.
BritCham serves not only as a business networking platform but also as a channel for policy dialogue through the British Corporate Advocacy Council (BCAC). The mechanism enables businesses to engage directly with regulators, identify issues in the business environment and propose solutions.
In 2026, BCAC has worked with the Vietnam International Financial Centre (VIFC) on the roadmap for developing the VIFC in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. It also held discussions with the Ministry of Finance and participated in a number of high-level public-private dialogues.
According to BritCham Vietnam, these activities aim to promote a transparent and predictable business environment, enabling companies to make better use of opportunities arising from Vietnam’s new development phase.
Alongside growing trade and investment, the quality of contributions by the foreign-invested sector is becoming increasingly important as Vietnam shifts towards a productivity- and value-added-driven growth model.
Nguyen Linh Chi, Head of Corporation Communications at Unilever Vietnam, said that investment capital, production, exports and job creation remain important contributions by FDI enterprises to Vietnam’s economy. However, the sector can generate greater long-term value in the next stage of development.
FDI companies can bring technology and innovation closer to the domestic economy, invest in people and skills, strengthen domestic supply chains, and share standards, capabilities and management experience with Vietnamese businesses, she noted.
These factors are particularly significant as Vietnam seeks higher-quality growth, with technological capacity, human resources and deeper participation in global value chains becoming increasingly important. From the perspective of UK-Vietnam cooperation, these are also areas of growing interest to UK businesses alongside traditional trade and investment activities.
BritCham Vietnam is scheduled to organise the UK-Vietnam Business Forum 2026 on October 29 in Ho Chi Minh City. The forum will focus on Vietnam’s growth-model transformation and the role of UK-Vietnam business cooperation during this process.
The event will feature a business roundtable, UK-Vietnam business exhibition, thematic sessions and a Gala programme, alongside B2B meetings organised under the UK-Vietnam Trade Mission to help businesses explore markets and pursue concrete cooperation opportunities.
BritCham Vietnam said the combination of policy dialogue, exhibitions and business networking is expected to provide a platform for companies from both countries to address long-term economic issues and turn business connections into practical trade and investment opportunities./.
VNA
