Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung made the statement at a meeting on September 23 with the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee to discuss draft amendments to the law.

Hung said that enterprises will determine the value of IPR for internal management, then through an intermediary organisation. The valuation will be made public before a transaction in accordance with international practice.

The NA Standing Committee discussed the draft amendments to the IP law. Photo: National Assembly Portal

Responding to questions from some NA delegates about AI, he explained that using public data to train AI does not require copyright permission, as long as it is not copied verbatim because if it is banned, it will reduce competitiveness. Many countries such as Japan have legalised this regulation. For works created by AI, if the AI ​​is created without human participation, it is not protected and must be labelled; on the contrary, if humans use AI as a tool, it is still protected.

In the face of the fact that original news produced by press agencies is often used by aggregators, making greater profits while journalists have to put in more effort, Chairman of the NA Committee on Culture and Social Affairs Nguyen Dac Vinh suggested that the drafting agency should study and supplement regulations to protect the rights of the mainstream press. There should be an agreement mechanism among press agencies to ensure legitimate rights and create revenue.

Regarding this issue, Hung said that copying articles without agreement is a violation, especially on social networks and aggregator sites. The ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to clarify and ensure that no additional administrative procedures arise.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung. Photo: National Assembly Portal

Other comments from delegates on the legal responsibilities of intermediary platforms, decentralisation, and new concepts will be considered and specified in decrees and circulars to both ensure consistency in the legal system and avoid increasing procedural burdens.

NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh suggested that comments and ideas should be fully considered, especially on adding regulations for new IP subjects such as digital derivative products, AI, and big data. They should clearly specify the effective date, and add transitional provisions to avoid legal gaps.

The draft law is expected to create a modern legal corridor, and improve the protection and exploitation of intellectual property values, thereby contributing to promoting innovation, digital transformation, and international integration.

As planned, the draft amendments will be submitted to the NA’s 10^th session in October.

Conforming to treaty via Law on IP In the last few years, Vietnam has signed a certain number of international trade agreements which require Vietnam to accede to or approve the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) within a prescribed time period. Partner Nguyen Thi Hong Anh and junior associate Vu Hoang Ha Thu of Indochine Counsel take a look at amendments and supplements made in the Law on Intellectual Property in June.

A helping hand for tech through altered IP law The long-awaited amended Law on Intellectual Property is expected to boost innovation and commercialization of intellectual property assets in Vietnam once it takes effect in 2023. Huynh Thanh Dat, Minister of Science and Technology, talked to Hoang Giang about the important highlights that will create breakthroughs in the field.

Vietnam ranks 44th in 2025 WIPO Global Innovation Index Vietnam has maintained 44th position in the global innovation ranking for 2025, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

WIPO director general to visit Vietnam Director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Daren Tang will visit Vietnam on September 25-26 at the invitation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, aiming to expand cooperation in the field of intellectual property and innovation.

Following the administrative merger of Thai Nguyen and Bac Kan provinces on July 1, the population size, geographical scope, economic structure, spatial planning, and enterprise development needs have undergone significant changes. It is essential to enhance activities and policy mechanisms to support the private economy’s growth while implementing simplified, transparent, and efficient administrative procedures for business registration and startup activities. This aims to foster both the quantity and quality of the private economy in the new era.

At the first Thai Nguyen Party Congress for the 2025–2030 term on September 22, the Department of Finance outlined the province’s private sector development strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045. The plan positions the private economy as a key growth driver, taking the lead in science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation, while contributing to the implementation of Resolution No.57-NQ/TW and other Party guidelines and policies.

Looking towards 2045, the private economy in the province is expected to grow rapidly, robustly, and sustainably, proactively participating in global production and supply chains with high competitiveness in the region. The goal is to have approximately 35,000 enterprises operating in the economy by 2045, contributing over 60 per cent to the province’s regional GDP.

To achieve these objectives, one proposed solution is to continue pushing administrative reforms, streamlining the apparatus, and simplifying administrative procedures to make them accessible and easy for businesses and citizens to navigate.

Additionally, the province needs to accelerate digital transformation, applying technology to streamline administrative procedures, state management, and support businesses in handling procedures and documents electronically.

A key solution proposed by the Department of Finance is to establish a platform to support startups, expand the one-stop-shop model, synchronise information systems for handling specialised administrative procedures, and ensure inter-agency connectivity. Simultaneously, policies to support startups for disadvantaged groups and specific regions should be developed.

The Department of Finance outlined a roadmap to 2030 with specific tasks. In the 2025–2026 phase, the province will focus on developing and issuing a standardised set of administrative procedures province-wide and piloting the “One-Stop Startup Support” model in 10 wards and communes, while providing training for all staff handling applications at the ward and commune levels.

In the 2026–2028 phase, the ‘One-Stop Startup Support’ model will be expanded across the province. This is also the appropriate time to launch the Thai Nguyen Startup Support Portal. From 2028 to 2030, the province will maintain and upgrade the digitalised administrative support system while conducting evaluations based on key indicators namely the number of new enterprises, business satisfaction levels, and average processing times for applications.

A new era of growth

The merger with Bac Kan has expanded Thai Nguyen’s development space and scale, opening diverse opportunities for robust growth. For the 2025–2030 term, the province targets becoming a modern industrial centre with high average income by 2030, aiming for annual economic growth of 10.5 per cent and contributing to the national goal of double-digit growth in 2026–2030.

Trinh Viet Hung, alternate member of the 13th Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of Thai Nguyen Party Committee and Chairman of Thai Nguyen People’s Committee

In his opening speech at the Congress, Trinh Viet Hung, alternate member of the 13^th Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of Thai Nguyen Party Committee and Chairman of Thai Nguyen People’s Committee declared, “The Party Committee has outlined seven key tasks and three important development areas, focusing on developing synchronised and modern infrastructure, advancing science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, improving human resource quality, making the private economy a key economic driver, and promoting green and circular economies.”

Speaking at the Thai Nguyen Party Congress, General Phan Van Giang, Politburo Member and Minister of Defence, said “The province must prioritise building synchronised, modern infrastructure; advancing science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, and workforce quality; and positioning the private sector as a key economic driver alongside green and circular growth. Immediately after the Congress, the Thai Nguyen Party Executive Committee should issue an action plan and mobilise resources for implementation.”

General Phan Van Giang, Politburo Member and Minister of Defence

General Phan Van Giang urged the province to strengthen planning and planning management, clearly defining its role within the northern key economic region and the capital region, with a focus on regional connectivity to drive growth and affirm its position as a hub for the northern midland and mountainous area.

“Prioritise the development of high-tech industries with strong competitive advantages, environmental sustainability, and efficient use of land and labour,” he stressed. “Give particular attention to attracting key sectors such as supporting industries, electronics, IT, and deep mineral processing.”

Thai Nguyen emerges as a catalyst for Vietnam’s low-carbon future As the global economy accelerates its shift towards sustainability and carbon neutrality, Thai Nguyen province is positioning itself at the forefront of Vietnam’s green transition.

Thai Nguyen targets green and sustainable agricultural sector Thai Nguyen province is implementing comprehensive solutions to develop green, smart, and sustainable production zones, thereby enhancing the value of agricultural products and adapting to climate change.

Thai Nguyen to host first Party Congress since merger with Bac Kan Thai Nguyen is preparing for a pivotal political milestone as the province convenes its first Party Congress since merging with Bac Kan, outlining priorities and goals for the 2025–2030 development phase.

Thai Nguyen opens first Party Congress since Bac Kan merger Thai Nguyen Party Committee has opened its first congress for the 2025–2030 term, a significant milestone following its recent merger with Bac Kan province.

At AWS Cloud Day Vietnam 2025 on September 18 in Hanoi, AWS and Strand Partners released the results of a survey examining AI adoption, innovation, and economic competitiveness in Vietnam. The survey gathered insights from 1,000 businesses and 1,000 citizens, assessing how companies and individuals are adapting to AI.

Nick Bonstow, director at Strand Partners, said, “We are at a pivotal moment in the digital transformation journey for Vietnam, with AI adoption rates accelerating significantly.”

The survey found that 18 per cent of Vietnamese firms now use AI regularly, up from 13 per cent a year ago, representing growth of 39 per cent on-year.

Companies that have adopted AI are seeing tangible benefits: 61 per cent report increased revenue, with an average gain of 16 per cent.

Eric Yeo, Country general manager, AWS Vietnam at AWS Cloud Day 2025. Photo: AWS

66 per cent of those who have adopted AI have already experienced productivity gains. These productivity gains are coming from a wide range of sources, especially through enhancing customer service and relationships (35 per cent), and the automation of routine tasks (29 per cent).

Nick Bonstow, however, admitted that while AI adoption is increasingly widespread around Vietnam, many are not yet harnessing AI for its more advanced purposes. 74 per cent of businesses remain focused primarily on more basic uses of AI, and on incremental gains (e.g., driving efficiencies and streamlining processes), rather than innovation (e.g., developing new products or disrupting industries).

A smaller share, 17 per cent of Vietnamese businesses, have advanced to the intermediate stage of AI integration. And only 9 per cent of Vietnam companies have reached the most transformative stage, where they are using AI for its most advanced purposes.

Regarding startups, they aren’t just using AI – they’re building entirely new products and business models around it that would have been impossible just years ago. 55 per cent of startups say they are leveraging AI in some way throughout their business.

31 per cent have AI at the core of their business proposition. 35 per cent of startups are developing new AI-driven products and services. Looking ahead, 91 per cent of startups believe AI will fundamentally transform their industry within the next five years.

For large enterprises, their adoption of AI is strong, but their adoption is more basic and focused on incremental gains such as driving efficiencies, rather than innovation. 41 per cent of large enterprises are using AI, compared with 55 per cent of startups.

“This risks a two-tier AI economy, where startups are surging ahead with AI integration and adoption. If not addressed, this two-tier AI economy – with tech-driven startups outpacing larger enterprises in AI innovation – could shape Vietnam’s economic future,” said Nick Bonstow.

According to the representative of Strand Partners, moving beyond basic AI use for businesses of all sizes is key to unlocking the full benefits of AI for Vietnam’s economy and society. The potential economic impact is significant; in 2023, cloud and cloud-enabled AI contributed $1.5 billion to Vietnam’s GDP.

Further research estimates that across the Asia-Pacific region, cloud and cloud-enabled AI together could contribute up to $2.9 trillion, with $203 billion coming from AI alone.

Despite these, Nick Bonstow shared that businesses said that several barriers are limiting them from adopting the technology more profoundly. They include lack of skilled workers a top reported barrier, compliance and perceived costs, regulatory uncertainty.

“Vietnam has the right tools and the ambition to lead in AI,” said Eric Yeo, Country general manager, AWS Vietnam. “We encourage policymakers and industry leaders to take action to unlock Vietnam’s AI potential across both startups and large enterprises, by boosting digital skills training, providing clarity in regulation and adopting a pro-growth approach, and finally by modernising the public sector technology.”

Photo: AWS

Yeo noted that the AI trend is clear: acceleration. AWS is committed to supporting businesses in Vietnam to drive long-term impact and help grow the local economy. AWS has been at the forefront of the Vietnam’s digital transformation journey since establishing its local presence in 2017.

Through strategic infrastructure investments including AWS Outposts (2021), an upcoming AWS Local Zone in Hanoi, and Edge locations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (2022), AWS has built a robust foundation for ultra-low latency workloads across the country.

Over 100,000 individuals have been trained in cloud and AI in Vietnam since 2017. And in 2023, AWS rolled out the ‘AI Ready’ initiative, offering free AI and generative AI courses – 30 in Vietnamese to date – to help learners gain in-demand skills and access career opportunities.

“We are focused on helping organisations of all sizes across Vietnam to migrate IT workloads to cloud to support their digital-first strategies, and accelerate AI adoption and innovation end-to-end, from experimentation to real life applications,” said Yeo.

“AI is the biggest opportunity since cloud computing, and possibly since the internet. We look forward to collaborating with governments, businesses, and startups to unlock Vietnam’s AI potential,” he added.

At present, AWS is driving innovation with organisations across Vietnam, from fast-moving startups to leading brands and public sector organisations, such as AI Hay, Techcombank, VIB, VPBank, Gamota, Katalon, TymeX.

For instance, AI Hay is a Vietnam-first, AI-powered platform revolutionizing knowledge discovery through social, community-driven GenAI search. Since launch, the app has now had over 15 million downloads and processed over 100 million questions monthly, serving millions of Vietnamese daily.

Elsewhere, Techcombank, one of Vietnam’s leading banks, is accelerating digital banking with Amazon Q Developer. An initial pilot with 50 developers delivered strong results, 80 per cent satisfaction and clear gains in productivity and code quality, prompting a rapid scale-up to 600 developers. This has now been rolled out to more than 1,000 developers across TCB.

By using features like Code Suggestions and AI Commit Message, Techcombank cut development time, saving 572 days of manual effort in just three months, a 30 per cent productivity boost.

According to Eric Yeo, “Vietnam businesses show strong AI innovation adoption, demonstrating significant economic potential. However, our research reveals critical barriers, particularly for larger enterprises looking to deepen AI implementation.”

“To maintain Vietnam’s competitive position globally, government and industry must address these specific challenges. AWS remains committed to accelerating GenAI adoption through our infrastructure investments and skills training initiatives,” he added.

Vietnam accelerates cloud computing to power digital economy growth As Vietnam ramps up the development of cloud computing to drive its digital economy, new capabilities are expected to support both public and private sector transformation.

VPBank leverages AWS Skill Builder to fuel digital transformation VPBank announced on August 7 that it has integrated Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Skill Builder into its cloud computing training programme to foster continuous learning at scale.

Following 7.5 per cent growth in the first six months and expectations of further stimulus, UOB revised its full-year GDP forecast to 7.5 per cent, up from 6.9 per cent. Vietnam’s real GDP expanded 7.96 per cent on-year in the second quarter, outpacing Bloomberg’s 6.85 per cent estimate and UOB’s own 6.1 per cent projection, bringing first-half growth to its highest level since 2011.

UOB’s September 17 report highlighted that Vietnam’s strong first-half growth was underpinned by a 14 per cent on-year export surge, boosted by improved sentiment after the US lowered its ‘Liberation Day’ tariff on April 2 to a temporary 10 per cent baseline for 90 days. Tariff uncertainty eased further in the second half as the US finalised country-specific rates ahead of the August 1 deadline, with Vietnam’s rate set at 20 per cent.

Data from July indicates that growth momentum remains positive, though the outlook is tempered by tariff developments. Exports rose 17 per cent on-year to a record $42.3 billion, bringing year-to-date growth close to 16 per cent. However, the trade surplus narrowed to $9.5 billion in the first seven months, compared to $14 billion a year earlier, due to higher imports from front-loaded export orders.

“Despite tariff pressures, annual exports could still rise by about 10 per cent (compared to 14 per cent in 2024), assuming a moderate 1–5 per cent pace for the rest of 2025,” UOB said in the report.

Other indicators also signal resilience. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rebounded to 52.4 in July after three straight months below 50, while manufacturing output rose 9 per cent on-year despite a high base. Overseas capital inflows remained strong, with $13.6 billion in realised investment as of July, up from $12.6 billion in the same period last year, suggesting full-year inflows could surpass $20 billion (compared to $25.4 billion in 2024).

Amid external headwinds, Vietnam announced a $48 billion infrastructure scheme in mid-August, spanning 250 projects. Of these, 129 state-funded initiatives worth $18 billion will prioritise urban development and transport, while 121 projects valued at $30.5 billion will draw financing from other sources, including foreign enterprises.

“Despite tariff threats and uncertainty, Vietnam’s economy continues to show resilience and dynamism. Export performance has been particularly strong, though risks remain if US demand weakens amid tariff-induced price pressures,” UOB said.

Following robust 7.5 per cent growth in the first half of 2025 and expected support from stronger government investment, UOB revised its full-year GDP forecast to 7.5 per cent, up from 6.9 per cent previously and just under 7.1 per cent in 2024. Growth is projected at 7.6 per cent on-year in the third quarter and 7.2 per cent in the fourth. For 2026, UOB maintains its projection at 7 per cent. By comparison, the government is targeting 8.3–8.5 per cent growth this year.

Inflation, however, shows little sign of easing. Headline inflation reached 3.3 per cent year-to-date in July, versus 3.6 per cent on average in 2024 and 3.26 per cent in 2023. Housing and construction materials (5.9 per cent on-year average so far, with an 18.8 per cent weighting) and healthcare (18 per cent on-year average, with a 5.4 per cent weighting) remain the main drivers.

“Combined with decent growth prospects in the second half of 2025 and persistent VND weakness, these factors would constrain the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) ability to ease policy,” UOB said, expecting the refinancing rate to remain at 4.5 per cent.

“If business and labour market conditions deteriorate sharply, there is a possibility for the SBV to cut the refinancing rate in a single step to the COVID-19 low of 4 per cent, though this is not our base case,” the report added.

Bucking the regional trend, the VND slid to a record low of 26,436 per USD in August, down 3.4 per cent year-to-date and marking its fourth straight year of depreciation. While Vietnam secured a trade deal with the US that lowered tariff rates to 20 per cent from the 46 per cent announced in April, uncertainty remains over the 40 per cent transhipment tariff.

“This could prompt firms to reassess supply chain strategies, potentially dampening Vietnam’s attractiveness for foreign investment,” UOB said.

Looking ahead, the VND may continue to underperform compared to regional peers in capturing any upside from expected US Federal Reserve rate cuts. UOB’s upward revision of Vietnam’s GDP growth forecast to 7.5 per cent in 2025, from 7.1 per cent in 2024, could lend some support. Its updated USD/VND projections are 26,300 in the fourth quarter of 2025, 26,200 in the first quarter of 2026, 26,100 in the second, and 26,000 in the third.

Citi raises forecast for Vietnam’s 2025 GDP growth Citi remains cautiously optimistic on Vietnam’s growth outlook, although US tariffs on Vietnam will increase post a recently agreed trade deal.

ADB trims Vietnam’s GDP forecast to 6.3 per cent for 2025 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised Vietnam’s GDP growth forecast for 2025 down to 6.3 per cent from the 6.6 per cent it predicted in April.

Vietnam’s export resilience tested amid rising US tariff pressure As the United States slaps a 20 per cent countervailing tariff on Vietnamese exports, concerns loom over the policy’s implications for Vietnam’s growth trajectory. Despite mounting trade headwinds, Le Trung Hieu, deputy director general of the National Statistics Office, outlines why the country remains confident of meeting its ambitious target of over 8 per cent GDP growth in 2025.

World Bank forecasts Vietnam’s GDP growth to reach 6.6 per cent in 2025 Vietnam’s GDP growth is forecast to reach 6.6 per cent in 2025, according to the latest report by the World Bank.