Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s economy showed strong signs of acceleration in the third quarter, creating greater room for expansion in the final months of the year.
Many key sectors posted strong growth compared with the same period in 2025, providing an important foundation for the country to strive for its double-digit growth target.
A report by the National Statistics Office on the socio-economic situation in the first eight months of 2026 shows that the macro-economy remained basically stable and inflation was under control, with the consumer price index rising 4.45%. Major economic balances were maintained while production and business activities continued to improve.
Production capacity recovers
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose 11.9% year-on-year, the highest eight-month increase since 2019, signalling a recovery and expansion in production capacity.
Total foreign trade in goods reached a record 770.14 billion USD. Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) surpassed 40 billion USD, up 55.4% year-on-year, while disbursed FDI reached 17.25 billion USD, an increase of 12%.
Public investment remained an important growth driver, with disbursement reaching 49.8% of the annual plan. Tourism also bounced back strongly, with nearly 16 million international arrivals in the first eight months, up 14.5% year-on-year.
The services sector maintained positive momentum, with total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenues rising 13.3% from a year earlier, or 7.6% after excluding price factors. The state budget collection exceeded 2 quadrillion VND (76.76 billion USD), equivalent to 80% of the annual target and up 16%.
However, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong warned that macro-economic governance and inflation control will face greater pressure in the remaining months of the year.
Businesses continue to face difficulties in accessing capital and production premises, while rising input costs and signs of slower revenue growth are putting pressure on their operations.
During the first eight months, an average of 25,800 enterprises were newly established or resumed operations each month, but 19,700 withdrew from the market, highlighting continued concerns over business health.
Policy support strengthens growth prospects
Fiscal policy has emerged as an increasingly important growth driver, focusing on accelerating public investment, unlocking resources for development, and supporting businesses through tax and fee reductions and deferrals.
On August 24, the National Assembly adopted Resolution No. 43/2026/QH16 on personal and corporate income tax reductions. Under the resolution, business households and enterprises with annual revenues of no more than 10 billion VND are eligible for a 30% reduction in personal or corporate income tax for the 2026 and 2027 tax periods.
Dr. Le Duy Binh, Managing Director of Economica Vietnam, said the tax cuts targeting business households and small enterprises are timely and will help strengthen business confidence.
According to the Ministry of Finance, tax and fee reductions supporting people and businesses exceeded 158 trillion VND in the first eight months, while about 51 trillion VND in taxes and fees was deferred, providing additional resources for economic recovery and business development.
Experts, however, stressed that fiscal support must be accompanied by reforms to the business environment. Under its Resolution No. 258/NQ-CP, the Government has called for substantive and comprehensive administrative reform, particularly the simplification of administrative procedures and business conditions.
Dr. Nguyen Minh Thao, head of the Enterprise Development and Business Environment Division under the National Institute for Economics and Finance at the Ministry of Finance, said business conditions have long been a bottleneck to private-sector development.
Reducing the number of conditional business lines will substantially cut compliance costs and time while creating a healthier and more equitable competition environment.
The combination of fiscal support and institutional reform is therefore expected to strengthen business confidence, assist enterprises and business households, and provide an important impetus for Vietnam to achieve double-digit economic growth in the coming period, she added./.
