Businessman Dang Van Thanh proposed reducing income tax by issuing vouchers.

Optimistic about double-digit growth by 2026

At the 2026 Investment Forum on the morning of November 4, contributing to the double-digit growth target and the prospect of Vietnam's economic growth in 2026, Mr. Dang Van Thanh, founder of TTC Group, said that to ensure the GDP growth target of 9 to 10%, feasibility needs to be further strengthened by support from both the "supply" and "demand" sides.

Mr. Dang Van Thanh, founder of TTC Group.

According to him, in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, we only focused on supporting the "supply side", but in 2026, the "demand side" in consumption needs to be reinforced and supported to ensure GDP growth.

The solution to strengthen consumer demand that Mr. Thanh proposed to help the economy "circulate" better is that policymakers should consider reducing personal income tax, but in the form of vouchers, not cash.

“For example, if a person has to pay 10 dong in tax, then they will get a 30% reduction, which means they only have to pay 7 dong, and the remaining 3 dong will be given as a time-limited voucher for them to use for consumption. This is different from handing out cash, because giving out time-limited vouchers will stimulate spending, thereby helping the economic circulation to operate better.

So, if in the past we only supported the "supply end", now it is time to activate the "demand end", Mr. Thanh said.

Mr. Thanh also assessed that growth in 2025 would be around 8%, and this figure is reasonable.

Tax reduction and consumption stimulation are solutions proposed by experts to boost growth in 2026. (Illustration: Ha Linh)

Forecasting Vietnam's economic growth prospects in 2026, Dr. Le Anh Tuan - General Director of Dragon Capital believes that Vietnam's GDP growth in 2026 will be at the level of 8 - 10%. 2026 will be the time when the market "resets", when Vietnam's yield level compared to other countries in the region and the world is re-established at a new level.

Currently, Vietnam's foreign exchange reserves are around less than 80 billion USD, equivalent to 3 months of imports.

Since the beginning of the year, foreign investors have withdrawn nearly 5 billion USD from the stock market, and if calculated over the past 5 years, this figure amounts to about 12 billion USD. Without this capital withdrawal, Vietnam's foreign exchange reserves would be much higher, and macroeconomic stability would also be better consolidated.

Dr. Le Duy Binh, Director of Economica Vietnam, said he is not interested in numbers but in the confidence of the business community next year.

This belief will soon be transformed into concrete actions. These are decisions to invest and expand production and business. At the same time, that belief will also spread to customers, expanding consumption and spending of businesses as well as of individual consumers.

“I expect this to partly reflect the reality of 2026. We also expect that in 2026, direct and indirect investment flows will return,” said Dr. Le Duy Binh.

According to Mr. Binh, macroeconomic and political stability, the confidence of domestic consumers, as well as investors and international markets in the Vietnamese economy and businesses, are important foundations to believe in better growth prospects in 2026 and the following years.

He said he would not comment on the growth figure above 10%, but he believes this year's growth rate could be higher than 2024, and 2026 will be even better.

2026 is the time to step onto a new track

Also at the Vietnam Investment Forum 2026, Mr. Dang Van Thanh said he was very optimistic about the new development cycle from 2026, with many specific motivations and conditions to strengthen business confidence; especially the Southern region is bustling with construction sites.

He calculated that there are only 56 days left until the end of the 2025 fiscal year, which is also the time to summarize the 2021 - 2025 strategy. He is very excited to enter 2026, because this is the year that lays the foundation for the 2026 - 2030 period.

“It can be said that 2025 is the year of summarizing the whole year 2025 and the period 2021-2025. In 2026, I would like to affirm that there are many specific driving forces to strengthen the confidence of businesses, from resolutions on socio-economic development, affirming the role of businesses such as Resolution 68, Resolution 98. A completely new race track is waiting for businesses.

In the new business environment, if a business does not comply with the rules of serious and systematic investment and does not prepare a foundation, it will be eliminated. It is important to pay attention to the core of the market: management, control and operation. That is the foundation for sustainable development," Mr. Thanh said.

Public investment in 2026 will remain the engine of growth, but experts suggest that private investment must take on a stronger role in the future.

TTC's founder believes that in 2026, public investment will continue to play a driving role for growth, but businesses should not rely on this sector but should consider it only a phase, and must focus on the true nature of a market economy, which is production and business.

“We look at the southern region now - like a great project. There is Ring Road 3, highways, urban railways, a series of large projects with joint investment. It is a great effort of the Government, localities and enterprises. This is clearly showing that public investment leads investment. But I believe that it is only a temporary driving force. In the end, entrepreneurs must carry out the mission of production, not only for the country but also for their own enterprises,” Mr. Thanh added.

Agreeing, Dr. Le Duy Binh, Director of Economica Vietnam, said that after each difficult period of the economy, public investment always plays a very important role in promoting the economy's aggregate demand.

Dr. Le Duy Binh: I believe that in 2026, GDP growth will be better than in 2025, when the confidence of businesses and consumers is increasingly strengthened.

Vietnam is in the process of transitioning to a new growth model, the need for infrastructure and the expansion of economic space is extremely necessary. Therefore, public investment is still expected to be an important driving force of the economy. However, in the long term, public investment capital should not be pushed too strongly, because that has some potential risks.

First, too much public investment can create a "crowding out" effect on private investment, that is, reduce the investment motivation of the private sector.

Second, when public investment increases, the State is forced to increase budget revenue or borrow more, which means that the tax burden and other financial obligations also increase, creating pressure on the private economic sector. Every business and every taxpayer can feel some of this pressure.

Therefore, public investment will continue to play an important role, but in the future, it is expected that private investment will gradually replace and take on a stronger role, especially in infrastructure projects where the private sector can participate.

Public investment should only focus on projects that are not attractive or not attractive enough for the private sector. At the same time, public investment should act as “seed capital”, together with the private sector, investing in large infrastructure projects, in the form of PPP or other cooperation models.

"We still consider public investment an important driving force, but we need to aim for higher efficiency, focus on projects that can create changes in the situation, and open up new growth spaces that we have not exploited before," said Dr. Le Duy Binh.

Ha Linh

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/doanh-nhan-dang-van-thanh-de-xuat-giam-thue-thu-nhap-bang-phat-voucher-ar985086.html