Vietnam

Intelligence for Better Decision Making

Vietnam Embarks on Strategic Shift to Preventive and Lifelong Public Healthcare
Jan. 22, 2026 | Health

Vietnam’s health sector is shifting toward comprehensive, lifelong public healthcare that emphasizes prevention, early intervention, and community-based services.

**At its January 19–25, 2026 session, the Party’s 14th National Congress affirmed Politburo Resolution 72 (September 9, 2025), marking a strategic shift from medical treatment to a life-course approach that emphasizes disease prevention, early and remote care, and grassroots-level services.**
The resolution cites persistent challenges in Vietnam’s healthcare system—especially weaknesses in its institutional framework—and casts health policies around the population as Vietnam’s most valuable asset.

**Building on this mandate, the Ministry of Health drafted Government Resolution 282 to assign specific tasks, timelines, and responsibilities.**
Strong coordination among ministries and local authorities has produced draft policies tailored to regional needs. To overcome institutional bottlenecks, officials are finalizing regulations and mechanisms that will mobilize and allocate resources efficiently, ensuring joint participation by state bodies, the private sector, and communities. Over the next five years, the Ministry plans to refine laws and regulations to formalize these institutional reforms.

**Alongside these structural changes, Resolution 72 calls for a diversified resource base that combines public budget allocations, the health insurance fund, private-sector investments, and community contributions.**
The Ministry intends to launch a national target health program over the next decade and strengthen universal health insurance management. By issuing transparent policies, it aims to encourage societal involvement and coordinated action, while establishing monitoring systems to track resource flows and uphold accountability.

**To enshrine these directives in law, authorities have submitted key legal instruments to the 14th National Assembly: a Resolution on healthcare breakthroughs, the Law on Disease Prevention, the Population Law, and a National Target Program on Health Development and Population Policy for the next ten years.**
Together, these measures create a legal framework for life-course healthcare, preventive interventions, and strategic resource allocation, with implementation managed from central to local levels.

**Implementing this new strategy also depends on skilled personnel and modern technology.**
The Ministry is strengthening training and professional standards for health workers—particularly in grassroots and preventive care—and offering enhanced legal protections and incentives to deploy staff to priority areas. Pilot programs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are testing models of early and remote care. Meanwhile, digital health initiatives will introduce electronic medical records, integrated health databases, artificial intelligence in research, and other digital solutions to boost accessibility, convenience, and innovation in service delivery.
Escalating Anti-Corruption and Reform Measures Reshape Party Governance and Economic Policy
Jan. 22, 2026 | Governance & Law

Efforts to prevent corruption, wastefulness, and misconduct now drive the Party’s agenda across multiple sectors.

**Under its 13th Congress term, the Party’s Politburo and Central Steering Committee led a decisive, persistent campaign to combat corruption, wastefulness, and negative practices.**
They uncovered and handled large-scale, sophisticated cases in banking, securities, auctions, and public investment, some exploiting complex organizational networks and the pandemic context. Party inspection bodies and prosecutorial agencies strengthened coordination, combining Party disciplinary measures, state administrative actions, and criminal prosecutions to improve asset recovery and enforcement. These efforts drew widespread public support at both central and local levels and contributed to a cleaner, stronger Party and political system.

**As the Party moves into the 14th Congress term, it will further strengthen its leadership and disciplinary mechanisms while ensuring anti-corruption work underpins sustained, double-digit socio-economic growth.**
This approach involves renewing thinking, mindsets, and methods in line with recent Politburo resolutions and aligning anti-corruption initiatives with institutional and legal improvements. The Party will focus on identifying and closing legal loopholes—particularly in land and investment projects—and adapting laws to prevent bad actors from exploiting gaps. It will also foster the private economy as a development resource and remove obstacles hindering public and private investment.

**The Party will reinforce preventive measures by detecting and handling violations early, reducing reliance on criminal prosecutions and enhancing the recovery of misappropriated assets.**
The People’s Procuracy will gain expanded authority to initiate civil and administrative lawsuits. Broader asset controls and the advancement of cashless payment systems will increase transparency, creating a more open environment for monitoring officials’ and organizations’ financial activities.

**The Party also plans further institutional reforms to eliminate overlapping functions among anti-corruption agencies and improve operational efficiency from central to local levels.**
It will introduce policies to protect and incentivize innovators and responsible actors while strictly sanctioning those who evade accountability. Through education and public information campaigns, the Party aims to build a culture of integrity among officials, Party members, and the public. Agencies tasked with combating corruption and wastefulness must maintain exemplary standards of integrity to preserve their credibility and effectiveness.

Monitored Intelligence for Vietnam - Jan. 23, 2026


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Strengthening Decentralization and Delegation in Promoting Private Economic Development

Bao Dien Tu | Local Language | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | UndeterminedInitiative

At the 14th National Congress of the Party on January 21, Secretary of the Saigon Ward Party Committee Nguyen Tan Phat outlined a strategy for leading rapid and sustainable private economic development in Saigon Ward, a central urban area in Ho Chi Minh City with significant historical and economic importance. Saigon Ward is a hub for international finance, commerce, and high-end services, featuring a modern urban economy that includes digital, sharing, night-time, financial, and 24/7 service economies. The Ward operates under a two-tier local government system which enables closer engagement with organizations, enterprises, and residents.

The Ward Party Committee has developed a developmental program for high-end trade, services, finance, and international tourism for 2025-2030, aligned with the Politburo Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW and recent amendments supporting special mechanisms and policies for Ho Chi Minh City. Key economic measures include enhancing quality and service in supermarkets, shopping centers, and retail stores, building free trade commercial centers for diverse high-end products, and attracting financial experts and strategic investors to the International Financial Center. Administrative reforms are focused on simplifying procedures, streamlining the apparatus, and accelerating digital transformation to facilitate rapid access to public services.

Economic statistics indicate significant growth in Saigon Ward’s private economy, with 14,283 enterprises and business households as of early 2026, an increase of 966 units since mid-2025. Local budget revenue substantially exceeded the 2025 targets, with state budget revenue reaching 186.67% of the assigned estimate. The 2026 budget sets a target of 10,453 billion VND, with the private economy expected to contribute over 64% of this revenue, underscoring its importance as a dynamic driving force behind local development.

Private sector participation in socio-economic projects and facility development in Saigon Ward has increased, reflecting strong confidence from entrepreneurs and enterprises in the political and socio-economic environment. Nguyen Tan Phat emphasized promoting the Party’s adaptive leadership, encouraging Vietnamese entrepreneurs, and the State’s need to innovate alongside fast-changing market conditions. Harmonizing interests among the State, businesses, and people is essential for sustainable private economic development.

The effectiveness of the market economy relies on competition, innovation, creativity, and adaptability, with decentralization and delegation in economic management identified as critical to promoting private sector growth. Policies around corporate income tax and procedure fees must align with city and national development goals. Saigon Ward, newly established in July 2025 with a population of 47,022 and a strong Party organization, aims to become a dynamic economic and financial center, contributing to Ho Chi Minh City's vision as an international mega-city and Asian destination.

Cục Thuế: Không căn cứ doanh thu 2026 để truy thu thuế khoán các năm trước

Tax Department: No basis to use 2026 revenue to recover fixed lump-sum tax for previous years

VN Express | Local Language | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | Regulation

Starting in 2026, millions of households under the lump-sum tax regime will transition to declaring and paying taxes based on actual revenues. Despite concerns over potential retroactive tax assessments if declared 2026 revenues exceed previous lump-sum amounts, the Tax Department clarified in Official Dispatch 307 dated January 19 that it will not use 2026 declared revenues to retroactively assess or recover tax obligations from prior years. This applies to taxpayers assigned revenues and payment levels by the tax authority through 2025 and earlier, and to those whose taxable revenues changed by 50% or more due to shifts in operational scale.

Deputy Director General Mai Sơn emphasized that administrative sanctions regarding invoices for business households have been designed to be simpler and more appropriate to their scale, confirming that declared revenues in 2026 will not be used to recover lump-sum taxes for past years. The tax authority will also enhance support channels and provide step-by-step guidance to facilitate the declaration process for business households.

However, if fraud or revenue concealment causing tax shortfalls is detected, households or individual businesses will face sanctions under Decree 125/2020. Penalties can include warnings, fines up to 200 million VND for organizations and 100 million VND for individuals, fines on false declarations equaling 20% of the missing tax, and tax evasion fines from one to three times the evaded amount. Additional measures include suspension of invoice printing, full payment of taxes and penalties, and potential criminal prosecution for serious offenses.

By the end of 2024, Vietnam had approximately 3.6 million business households and individuals, with 2.2 million stably operating under lump-sum or declared regimes. These contributed around 26 trillion VND to the budget in 2024, with 17 trillion VND collected in the first half of that year.

Xây dựng mức thu phí sử dụng đường bộ với 18 tuyến cao tốc

Establishing Road Usage Fees for 18 Expressway Routes

Bao Dien Tu | Local Language | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | Regulation

The Vietnam Road Administration has tasked the Road Management Regions (RMR) I, II, III, and IV with managing the collection of road-use fees for 18 expressways owned and operated by the State. These RMRs are required to comply with State Budget Law and the Law on Fees and Charges, setting up accounts at the State Treasury to handle fee collection and expenditures. They must also work with contractors managing toll stations and vehicle load control to establish procedures for issuing fee receipts in line with legal regulations.

The administration instructed the RMRs to set road-use fee rates based on Decree No. 130/2024 and the actual lengths of the expressway sections. The Plan for exploitation of these infrastructure assets has been approved by the Ministry of Construction. Thirteen state-invested expressway projects will be tolled for seven years from their operation commencement date, with an estimated revenue of nearly VND 2,500 billion annually after costs.

Additionally, the Ministry of Construction has approved toll exploitation plans for five North-South expressway projects financed by the state budget. The Vietnam Road Administration previously proposed two fee rates: 1,300 dong/km for expressways fully meeting tolling standards (4 lanes with continuous emergency lanes) and 900 dong/km for expressways lacking continuous emergency lanes.

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