Looking Back: 2025 and Gazing Into: 2026
Looking Back: 2025
For businesses, 2025 was an eventful year in Vietnam, bringing major legal, regulatory, and administrative changes with practical implications across multiple sectors.
These all unfolded amid ongoing global economic uncertainty, which shaped how these businesses approached investment and compliance in Vietnam – particularly in international trade. Nevertheless, foreign investment activity stayed resilient despite these uncertainties. Manufacturing and processing industries remained the key driver of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, led by Singapore and China.
Vietnam implemented a major restructuring of provincial-level administrative units, significantly reducing the number of provinces and centrally governed cities. Aimed at streamlining governance, the restructuring brought practical implications for investors, as they resulted in changes to competent authorities, licensing procedures, land administration, and local regulatory practices during the transition period.
Vietnam witnessed a wholesale amendment of its tax legal framework. Lawmakers passed its new Law on Tax Administration, Law on Personal Income Tax and Law on Corporate Income Tax, largely with the aim of clarifying tax administration and supporting enforcement activity. Businesses in 2025 would have also witnessed a significant ramping up of enforcement by the tax authorities. In fact, Vietnam had achieved its highest ever collection of tax revenue in 2025, exceeding targets by 25%.
A number of instrumental developments were also seen in the technology space, as Vietnam continued to develop its legal framework for the digital economy. The year saw the enactment of the long-awaited Law on Personal Data Protection, as well as the introduction of the country’s first-ever dedicated legislation on artificial intelligence (AI). Other key laws include the Law on Digital Technology Industry (to lay the legal foundation for investment in core innovative sectors) and a new, consolidated Law on Cybersecurity.
2025 was also marked by legislative developments to foster innovation in the financial sector. The Government had finally enacted its FinTech sandbox, as well as introduced policies to allow – for the first time – companies to partake in cryptocurrency exchange services (albeit on a pilot basis).
Gazing Into: 2026
Critically, 2026 is the year that will see Vietnam’s next electoral cycle. The newly constituted National Assembly is, however, expected to focus on maintaining continuity and enhancing enforcement of the laws that were passed in 2025 (which come into effect in 2026) as opposed to sweeping reforms. We can anticipate ongoing refinements to regulations that affect investment, land, environmental protection, and digital governance, as well as continued efforts to develop the e-government system.
A major focus will be the development of Vietnam’s International Financial Centre (“IFC”), which was established on 21 December 2025. Over the period between December 2025 and January 2026, the Government had passed a series of regulations to guide the establishment of the IFC, covering aspects including dispute resolution, financial policies, employment, immigration, and banking and finance. Therefore, 2026 will be a defining year for the IFC groundwork to be laid, possibly also testing Vietnam’s regulatory readiness for the IFC.
In the wake of Vietnam’s tax collection successes from 2025, active tax enforcement is likely to continue through to 2026. While areas of focus in 2025 such as transfer pricing and tax incentive compliance are expected to continue, Vietnam’s new tax regulations are expected to enhance enforcement in the e-commerce space as well.
In the real estate sector, concerns around overheating in certain real estate segments have remained on the Government’s radar in the latter half of 2025. Therefore, regulatory policy in 2026 is expected to see authorities focus on containing speculative risk. Reform to taxation in the real estate sector is one such policy that has been considered.
Enforcement of data protection laws is expected to gain momentum in 2026, as authorities move from policy development toward practical implementation. Heavy penalties are expected to be passed, and businesses (especially technology companies, digital platforms, financial institutions, and employers handling large volumes of personal data) should treat 2026 as a year of compliance readiness.
Full Report
Click on the link below for the full report which provides summaries of the key legal developments related to the above areas.
- Regional Round-Up 2025: Vietnam
Please note that whilst the information in this Update is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief at the time of writing, it is only intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and should not be treated as a substitute for specific professional advice
