Businesses join hands to achieve growth targets

Since the beginning of the year, global uncertainties have continued to create significant challenges for enterprises. Businesses have therefore adopted flexible short- and long-term solutions to overcome difficulties, stabilize production, and accompany the Party Committee, authorities, and people of Dong Nai City in striving to achieve double-digit growth targets, thereby contributing to local and national socio-economic development. Among the city’s top priorities are the application of science and technology, energy conservation, digital transformation, and stronger linkages to participate more deeply in global supply chains.

PART 1 : FLEXIBILITY IN SUSTAINING GROWTH

In the first months of 2026, Vietnam’s economy continued to record relatively strong growth. However, fluctuations in international markets have created mounting difficulties for production, business activities, and the broader economy. Rising production and transportation costs, along with unstable orders, are placing enterprises under growing pressure. In response, businesses have adopted various flexible solutions to maintain operations and sustain growth.

Strengthening trade connectivity and seeking new customers are among the solutions enterprises are striving to implement. Photo: Vuong The

Dong Nai City currently hosts nearly 100,000 enterprises operating across various sectors. In recent years, businesses have continuously monitored market developments and industry trends in order to make timely adjustments and maintain growth momentum in production and business activities.

Closely following the market and proactively adapting

According to experts, amid soaring raw material and transportation costs, many export enterprises are facing difficult negotiations with partners. If they raise selling prices to offset input costs, they risk losing orders as buyers shift to other suppliers. However, maintaining current prices would significantly narrow profit margins. Therefore, in the short term, negotiating with suppliers to control increases in raw material prices is considered crucial to easing cost pressures.

Pham The Linh, Director of The Linh Co., Ltd. in Ho Nai Industrial Park (IP), said the market for bedding and mattress products has recently slowed down. Achieving a sales growth target of over 20% this year remains a major challenge due to multiple difficulties, including weak purchasing power and hardships faced by business partners.

To address the situation, the company has focused on supporting its distribution network in expanding product consumption while researching and launching new product lines better suited to modern urban lifestyles and more affordable price segments.

On the international market, Pham Van Viet, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Garments, Textiles, Embroidery, and Knitting and Chairman of the Board of Viet Thang Jean Co., Ltd., noted that high consumer price indexes in the United States and the European Union have forced consumers to tighten spending on non-essential products such as clothing.

Consequently, major brands are maintaining inventory-reduction policies, splitting new orders into smaller batches, and pushing order confirmations closer to production schedules.

Workers at a mechanical engineering enterprise in Ho Nai IP.

According to industry experts, garment exporters need to immediately renegotiate surcharge policies with partners and share the risks arising from force majeure events. Enterprises should also prioritize markets within regional trade agreements such as RCEP and CPTPP. While exports to Western markets are facing difficulties, businesses should take advantage of strong growth in Southeast Asia and maximize benefits from free trade agreements to offset rising shipping costs to distant markets.

Similarly, the wood industry still holds positive growth prospects, though international market fluctuations require enterprises to remain highly adaptable. Nguyen Phuong, CEO of ViTaNa Co., Ltd. in Giang Dien IP, said Vietnamese wood products are exported to many countries, with the United States accounting for around 50% of the industry’s export turnover.

This reality requires enterprises to closely monitor market developments and trade policies in importing countries to develop timely, flexible responses. At the same time, businesses need to strengthen cooperation in supplying raw materials and supporting industries to optimize production costs.

Restructuring for long-term development

Nguyen Phuong added that, in the long term, production restructuring is essential to meet increasingly demanding international standards, thereby enhancing the reputation of Vietnamese wood products, consolidating existing values, and creating new competitive advantages.

ViTaNa has implemented various initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in recent years, generating practical benefits through lower energy consumption and higher production efficiency. According to the company, enterprises should shift away from traditional production models toward low-emission approaches and greener supply chains, viewing sustainability as an opportunity for transformation rather than a challenge.

Economic experts also believe opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to expand globally remain enormous in the long run. However, this requires a new mindset in which businesses need not only to join global supply chains but also to move up the value chain. Only by moving into branding and final product development can Vietnamese enterprises truly reach higher-value segments.

Not only domestic enterprises, but also foreign-invested enterprises are undergoing strategic transformation. AQUA Vietnam Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd. in Bien Hoa 2 IP is implementing a strategy based on its “understanding local needs” philosophy.

AQUA Vietnam combines international research and development teams with local experts to create tailor-made features for Vietnamese consumers while simultaneously expanding exports. According to General Director Fan Guofeng, the company plans to increase the total capacity of its three factories to nearly 1.6 million products per year, including 800,000 washing machines and 800,000 refrigerators, to meet growing domestic demand and expand exports to markets across Asia and Europe.

According to M.A. Le Thi Xuan Phuong from the Faculty of Law at Duy Tan University in Da Nang City, private enterprises need to proactively improve their integration capacity, restructure their development strategies, and allocate resources more effectively for innovation, governance, and sustainable development.

This process includes enhancing financial transparency, strengthening risk management, applying international governance standards, investing in technology and digital transformation, upgrading technological capabilities, developing high-quality human resources, and improving the competitiveness of private enterprises.

By Staff Writers – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho