The National Assembly has approved an economic growth target of at least 10% for 2026, the highest ever. This raises an important question: where will the momentum for such an ambitious goal come from? Growth drivers in 2025 Vietnam is on track to meet its 8% GDP growth target for this year, provided that fourth-quarter GDP expands by more than 8.4%. In the third quarter, GDP grew 8.2%, bringing nine-month growth to 7.85%. Due to seasonal factors, economic activity tends to peak in the final quarter, paving the way for the economy to beat the 8% growth target. If achieved, this would mark the second-highest growth rate since 1996, behind only the 8.5% recorded in 2022. Unlike the strong performance of 2022—which was largely a rebound from the pandemic-depressed baseline of 2021—the growth in 2025 is more substantive, reflecting genuinely vibrant economic activity supported by key drivers that have recovered robustly. Trade has been a major contributor. In the first ten months of the year, total import–export turnover reached US$762.4 billion, up 17.4% year-on-year. Exports rose 16.2%, imports grew 18.6%, and the merchandise trade surplus amounted to US$19.56 billion. This is a significant outcome, given the fact that the United […]