Unlocking all resources to support growth
Vietnam’s ambitious economic growth targets in the coming period will require the mobilization of vast investment resources. The challenge of securing capital for growth cannot be solved through a single instrument or funding channel. Vietnam needs a comprehensive national financial strategy.
The goal of achieving high economic growth in the coming years is placing Vietnam in a new context that requires major qualitative and quantitative changes. However, as demand for capital continues to rise, the country’s current financial system remains heavily reliant on bank credit.
This not only puts pressure on banks’ liquidity and maturity balance, but also highlights that the capital market has yet to fully play its role as a medium- and long-term funding channel for the economy.
A survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) showed that businesses continue to face significant challenges related to market access, financing and institutional barriers.
As of June 30, 2026, among more than 1 million operating enterprises, around 432,000 reported losses, while only about 420,000 were profitable. The business landscape remains characterized by a large number of small firms, with around 70% of non-state enterprises having registered capital of less than VND10 billion ($380,000), limiting their ability to access medium- and long-term funding.
This reality shows that the development of a comprehensive capital market is not only a requirement for the financial system but also a necessary condition to improve corporate resilience and create room for sustainable growth. A developed capital market would provide businesses with additional funding channels beyond bank loans while improving the efficiency of resource allocation across the economy.
The VCCI survey also identified three major challenges facing businesses:
Market bottlenecks: About 60.2% of enterprises reported difficulties in finding customers, while more than 53% experienced declining export orders due to sharply rising transportation costs.
Credit constraints: Around 93.5% of bank loans require collateral, making it difficult for many small and medium-sized enterprises to access financing.
Institutional barriers: More than 51% of legal obstacles stem from unclear or impractical regulations.
These challenges indicate that corporate financing needs cannot be addressed solely by expanding bank credit. What is needed is the simultaneous development of capital markets, the creation of additional medium- and long-term funding channels, and improvements to the institutional environment to ensure more efficient capital allocation.
A comprehensive strategy to unlock non-bank resources
Many experts agree that Vietnam needs to broaden its approach to financial resources rather than relying primarily on bank lending.
Gold and other forms of household-held assets are considered a major financial resource that has yet to be effectively mobilized. Financializing gold through mechanisms such as gold exchanges, gold certificates or gold-linked financial products could help channel these assets into the formal economy.
Dr. Le Xuan Nghia said that if designed with transparency and appropriate risk-management mechanisms, the mobilization of privately held gold resources could provide additional capital for the economy while reducing speculation and asset hoarding.
A paradox highlighted by many experts is that the State Treasury continues to raise funds through treasury bills and government bonds, while public investment disbursement remains slow. Undisbursed funds are deposited as term deposits at commercial banks, creating significant opportunity costs for the economy.
According to Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, accelerating public investment disbursement would not only improve the efficiency of budget capital utilization but also create strong spillover effects for the private sector, particularly in infrastructure, logistics, and supporting industries.
Timely and transparent tax refunds are also viewed as a way to quickly release cash flow for businesses. For many exporters, delays in value-added tax refunds can increase working capital pressures and limit production expansion.
Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu said reforming tax refund procedures would help businesses reduce financial costs and improve cash-flow autonomy, thereby reducing dependence on bank borrowing.
Beyond traditional sources of capital, Vietnam needs to develop emerging financial markets such as carbon markets, green finance, digital assets, and non-bank financial instruments.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien said the carbon market could become a new channel for mobilizing resources for the green transition while encouraging businesses to invest in emission-reduction technologies.
In addition, the expansion of financial leasing, factoring and supply-chain financing could help address the working capital needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, which often struggle to access traditional bank credit.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) will continue to play an important role in Vietnam’s economic growth. However, experts say the country should shift from attracting FDI at all costs to a more selective approach, prioritizing projects with high technology content, technology transfer capabilities, and stronger links with domestic enterprises.
Analysts emphasize that the quality of FDI inflows is more important than their quantity. If FDI remains concentrated in processing and assembly activities with limited connections to domestic businesses, its spillover effects on the economy’s competitiveness will remain constrained.
For a national financial strategy to be effective, close coordination between monetary and fiscal policies is essential. This principle was also highlighted in the Government’s Resolution 168, which calls for coordinated policy management to support growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability.
Lessons from late 2022 showed that when monetary policy was tightened abruptly, funding channels such as the stock market, corporate bond market, and real estate sector were severely affected. Only after the Government introduced support measures, including Resolution 08 on corporate bonds and Circular 02 on debt restructuring, did markets gradually stabilize.
Dr. Can Van Luc said that in the coming period, monetary policy cannot shoulder excessive responsibility for supporting economic growth. Therefore, fiscal policy needs to play a more proactive role through stronger public investment, tax reforms, business support measures and efforts to foster capital market development.
The challenge of mobilizing resources for growth cannot be solved through a single tool or funding channel. Vietnam needs a comprehensive national financial strategy in which banks focus on providing short-term capital, working capital and payment services; capital markets become the main channel for supplying medium- and long-term funding for businesses and investment projects; household resources are effectively mobilized through appropriate financial instruments; public investment and FDI capital are deployed to generate stronger spillover effects for the private sector; economic institutions are reformed towards greater transparency, stability and innovation.
When these resources are unlocked and coordinated effectively, Vietnam will have a stronger financial foundation to achieve high and sustainable growth targets. Conversely, continued heavy reliance on bank credit while alternative funding channels develop slowly could expose the economy to financial imbalances and constrain long-term growth potential.
Source: Dinh Vu, Thai Ha
Photo: Photo courtesy of Sun Group
