Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s economy in 2025 stands out for its impressive resilience and ability to overcome challenges, according to Professor Vu Minh Khuong of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Singapore, Khuong noted that Vietnam is among the countries that have achieved higher-than-expected growth despite facing high tax barriers, demonstrating flexible adaptation to new developments.
According to him, the 8% growth rate represents extraordinary effort and has created a strong impression among international investors and economic partners.
Assessing the target of double-digit growth in 2026, he said this is a very ambitious goal, but Vietnam could achieve 10% growth if it pursues strong reforms.
He noted that large public spending and rapid credit growth could affect the economy’s long-term health. Reaching a steady 10% growth rate calls for an entirely new development path. This means the whole political system, the public, and the business sector need to seriously consider a fresh development model. The reforms introduced in 2025 have laid a strong foundation, especially through restructuring and merging provinces and ministries, which have strengthened unity across society and the economy. If these measures are fully grasped and put into practice, Vietnam could progress rapidly, he stressed.
Sharing lessons from the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), Khuong said JS-SEZ has positioned itself as a centre for AI, the digital economy, and data hubs, thereby attracting 30–50 billion USD from international corporations and achieving strong growth, while also becoming a symbol of the future. He advised Vietnam to follow a similar path by allowing the creation of new-generation free trade and special economic zones in major localities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, and possibly Hanoi in the future.
If Vietnam positions itself as a global AI and data hub, and more importantly, a new-generation financial centre, it could attract tens of billions of USD, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and significantly elevate its international standing, he believed.
The professor also stressed that achieving this requires a breakthrough vision, clear national positioning, and special mechanisms. In such special economic zones, legal frameworks should align with international standards to create real competitive advantages. High-ranking universities could also establish campuses to develop high-quality human resources for Vietnam.
In addition, the presence of leading global corporations in Vietnam should avoid the traditional investment attraction model. Instead, Vietnam needs to work with them to shape future development. He proposed establishing special working groups to cooperate with these corporations to address both global and domestic challenges, especially in areas related to digital transformation.
Vietnam must also quickly address current bottlenecks hindering labour productivity so that each sector can contribute an additional 1–2 percentage points to overall growth, making the 10% target achievable, he said. Hitting this target would be a huge achievement and could kick off a new era of groundbreaking progress for Vietnam.
From an investor’s perspective, Vietnam’s reforms consistently deliver positive results, reflecting stability in upward momentum. However, he recommended stronger decentralisation to ensure faster and more efficient governance./.
VNA
