A pivotal year for growth

Dong Nai, like the rest of the country, aims for double-digit economic growth in 2026 as the first year of implementing resolutions and plans for socio-economic development in the upcoming period, a pivotal year that will lay the foundation for growth throughout the entire term.

Businesses participate in a trade promotion program organized by the provincial People’s Committee. Photo: Vuong The

Enhancing the efficiency of public investment, accelerating the implementation of strategic infrastructure projects, continuing to improve the business environment, attracting high-quality projects, and supporting enterprises are the guiding principles that Dong Nai is applying to drive rapid and sustainable economic growth.

Launching a new phase

Nationwide, a review of the 2021–2025 period shows that Vietnam’s economic landscape has been marked by resilience and adaptability. Despite being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, global inflation, and tightening monetary policies in many major economies, Vietnam’s growth maintained a positive recovery trajectory, with each year outperforming the previous one and the current term surpassing the previous term across most sectors. In 2025 alone, the economy grew by 8.02%, the second-highest rate in the 2011–2025 period, driven primarily by services and industrial production. Vietnam also recorded, for the first time, an import-export turnover exceeding 930 billion USD and a trade surplus of more than 20 billion USD.

These impressive results over the past year have helped reinforce the confidence of the business community and international investors in Vietnam’s economic prospects for 2026.

According to Vo Tan Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), 2025 marked the conclusion of the 2021–2025 planning period, while simultaneously opening the pivotal year of 2026 - a year of particular significance as Vietnam both launches a new socio-economic development plan and must generate sufficiently strong growth momentum to realize its medium- and long-term objectives.

However, after a period of monetary policy easing to support recovery, policy space from 2026 onward is expected to be limited. Domestic consumption has recovered but remains insufficiently sustainable, while the private sector continues to face many challenges related to costs, markets, and its capacity to absorb capital. In this context, public investment has become a key pillar of growth.

For Dong Nai, the province has set a growth target of at least 10% in 2026. This year also marks the first year of implementing the Resolution of the First Provincial Party Congress of Dong Nai for the 2025–2030 term, as well as the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress. Achieving double-digit economic growth will require significant efforts from departments, sectors, and localities in management and governance, alongside the substantial advancement of the provincial business community and residents.

Focusing on solutions to strengthen growth drivers

Amid continued volatility in the global economy and a slowdown in worldwide growth, 2026 is widely regarded as a pivotal year, requiring Vietnam not only to recover but also to make a breakthrough. The key question is no longer whether growth can be achieved, but instead on what foundations that growth will be built.

According to Vo Tan Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in the new development phase, public investment should not be viewed merely as a demand-stimulus tool or assessed solely by disbursement rates. Instead, it must be recognized as a lever to boost the economy's overall productivity. Each public investment project, if well-designed and effectively implemented, should help reduce logistics and compliance costs for businesses, expand development space, and strengthen regional connectivity. In this way, public investment can guide private investment, promote technological innovation, and improve production organization. This undertaking forms the foundation for shaping rapid yet sustainable growth quality in the 2026–2030 period.

If public investment is approached only from the perspective of disbursement targets, opportunities to restructure the economy and improve the quality of growth will be challenging to realize fully.

Alongside public investment, corporate production and exports also play a critical role in driving growth.

Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam's Region 2 Branch, noted that the impacts of policy management would continue to spread across production, consumption, and export growth. Credit institutions in the region, covering Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, will continue to prioritize low-cost capital for production and export-oriented lending. By the end of 2025, total outstanding export loans at banks in Region 2 had reached nearly 300 trillion VND. Export credit is mainly short-term, efficiently utilized, and characterized by rapid capital turnover. As a result, lending volumes are significant, and credit institutions consistently meet the capital needs of exporting enterprises.

Experts emphasize that the current requirement for public investment is not simply to “invest more,” but to “invest more effectively.” Accordingly, the restructuring of public investment must be closely linked to improving capital efficiency throughout the entire process, from project preparation to implementation and operation.

In Dong Nai, public investment and significant infrastructure projects will be the primary drivers of growth. In late 2025 and early 2026, a series of large-scale, key projects across the province were simultaneously launched, inaugurated, or restarted, laying a foundation for long-term development. Alongside public investment, according to Nguyen Kim Long, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, the province will focus on implementing the Dong Nai Industrial Development Program for the 2026–2030 period, with a strong emphasis on developing processing and manufacturing industries as well as supporting industries. Dong Nai will gradually fill existing industrial parks while continuing to attract investment into potential new ones.

At the same time, the province will continue to improve the investment and business environment, encourage innovation, mobilize all available resources for development, and intensify the review and reduction of administrative procedures, shifting from “pre-inspection” to “post-inspection”, thereby reducing compliance costs for citizens and businesses.

By Vuong The – Translated by Hong Van, Minho