Elevating the Private Economy

The private economy continues to affirm its role as one of the key drivers of growth. As Phu Tho province aims to maintain high growth rates, removing bottlenecks regarding capital, land, technology, human resources, administrative procedures, and market expansion has become an urgent requirement—ensuring private enterprises grow not only in numbers but also in scale and competitiveness.

By the end of August 2026, the province recorded approximately 3,500 newly registered enterprises with a total registered capital of over 35,000 billion VND. Alongside the rise in new businesses, production and business activities showed positive signals. The industrial production index for the first 8 months grew by 21.8% year-on-year; total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue reached over 109,667 billion VND, up 16.8%.

From a small enterprise, Viet Duc Steel Production Joint Stock Company (Binh Xuyen Industrial Park) has risen to become one of Vietnam’s leading reputable steel manufacturers.

Evidently, the private sector—spanning industrial manufacturing, commerce, and services to production facilities and household businesses—is step-by-step expanding its operations. Yet behind the growing number of newly established businesses lies the critical puzzle: how to help these enterprises stand firm, scale up, and contribute more to the economy.

Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Tran Duy Dong stated that, in the spirit of Politburo Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW on private economic development, Phu Tho province is concretizing tasks through action plans tailored to local realities—boosting dialogue, receiving feedback, and removing difficulties for businesses. For the private economy to flourish, it first requires a favorable and stable business environment. The province’s current stance is not just to support businesses when they encounter trouble, but to proactively remove bottlenecks, enabling enterprises to confidently invest and expand production and trading. Enterprises must be viewed as the subject and center of development.

During their growth journey, private enterprises often face various bottlenecks in capital, land, procedures, technology, and manpower. For businesses seeking expansion, every single day of project delay can translate into missed market opportunities.

In Phu Ho Industrial Cluster, a 75-hectare project with a total investment of over 532 billion VND previously faced obstacles concerning land, procedures, and site clearance. After the business raised its concerns at the “Entrepreneur Coffee” program, local authorities and specialized agencies stepped in to resolve each task and accelerate progress.

For businesses, time is money. Faster procedural resolution, earlier land handovers, and timely bottleneck removals mean extra investment opportunities and job creation. Mr. Nguyen Thang Long — Director of Loa Thành Construction and Electromechanical Joint Stock Company (Binh Xuyen Industrial Park) — shared: “Private enterprises truly need government companionship, especially in areas businesses cannot solve on their own, such as land, investment procedures, and site clearance. When bottlenecks are removed quickly, businesses can proactively plan production, invest in machinery, recruit labor, and expand markets. What we hope for most is transparent, clear procedures and shortened processing times so businesses can plan for the long run.”

Reality demands continued improvements to the investment and business environment toward greater transparency, stability, and predictability. Administrative reform must not merely reduce paperwork; it must help businesses save time and operational costs.

Capital remains a decisive factor in production expansion. By late August, outstanding loan balances in the province reached an estimated 401,000 billion VND, up 8.8% compared to late 2025, with bad debt held at 0.76%. However, for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the issue is not just access to capital, but accessing capital tailored to their scale, production plans, and cash flow.

Alongside capital, technology is becoming essential for private businesses to boost competitiveness. The province has implemented policies supporting SMEs to innovate and modernize technology, register intellectual property protections, develop IP assets, and apply science and technology. Currently, 66 enterprises and cooperatives across the province have received support to apply technology in production to raise productivity and product quality. “To compete long-term, businesses cannot rely solely on labor and physical expansion; they must invest in machinery, improve processes, raise product quality, and apply technology to cut costs and boost yield. However, for SMEs, initial investment costs are quite high, making concrete, easily accessible policies tailored to real needs essential,” Mr. Nguyen Thang Long added.

The growing number of new businesses is a welcome signal, but for the private economy to truly become a growth driver, more enterprises must grow large enough. On this matter, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung — Chairman of the Provincial Business Association — remarked: “For the private economy to be truly strong, we must foster enterprises capable of integrating deeply into value chains. Businesses must raise their management capacity, technology, quality, and workforce; meanwhile, local authorities need to create a level, transparent competitive environment, supporting connections between domestic businesses, major corporations, and the FDI sector. As domestic businesses grow, the value generated and the spillover effect on the economy will expand accordingly.”

Quang Nam