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Entering the development phase for 2026-2030, Vietnam's National Brand should not only promote the image but become a strategic asset reflecting the country's competitiveness and core credibility in the global value chain.
A number of banks such as Vietcombank, BIDV, and VietinBank remain in the Top 500 largest banks in the world. The program, which has been in place for more than two decades since the government designated April 20 as National Brand Day, has demonstrated its crucial role in supporting enterprises. Growth in the number of enterprises meeting standards in each evaluation session points to efforts to upgrade technology and affirm the quality of Vietnamese enterprises.
The number of enterprises meeting National Brand criteria has increased sharply: from 30 enterprises in 2008 to 190 enterprises with 359 products meeting the criteria by the ninth evaluation in 2024.
According to Brand Finance’s 2025 assessment, the value of Vietnam's National Brand reached USD 519.6 billion, ranking 32nd of 193 countries. The 2020-2025 period recorded a sharp 63% growth, equivalent to USD 200 billion.
Vietnam currently ranks 52nd/193 in soft power. The pillars of business and trade rose 7 places to 56th in 2024. In 2025, total import-export turnover also exceeded USD 900 billion for the first time.
Many leading Vietnamese players have earned a place on the world map: Vietcombank, BIDV, and VietinBank remain in the Top 500 largest banks; Vinamilk is among the Top 50 global dairy companies; and Viettel asserts its leadership in Southeast Asia.
However, internal constraints remain a concern. Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan stresses the urgent need to transform the growth model, with the economy relying on productivity, quality, and autonomy, driven by digital transformation, green transformation, and sustainable development.
In this context, the National Brand concept has shifted from image promotion or traditional trade promotion to a strategic national asset. The National Brand in the new era is not just the “Made in Vietnam” label on goods, but the cultivation of Vietnam’s credibility and soft power internationally.
Hoang Minh Chien, Deputy Director of the Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade), highlights a paradox: while the macro value of the National Brand has surged, the internal value of the Top 100 Vietnamese enterprises fell by 14% in 2025. He also notes that the scale of Vietnamese enterprises remains modest by global standards, limiting their ability to position the national image as hoped.
Vietnam also remains lower in the global value chain: it is strong in OEM but weak in ODM design and especially OBM branding capability. The key task for the next stage is a shift from OEM to ODM and toward OBM to raise the value-added content of Vietnamese products.
To address bottlenecks, the National Brand program will be built on a three-pillar foundation: Quality – Innovation – Sustainable Development, imbued with Vietnam’s cultural identity. The Deputy Minister calls on enterprises to implement breakthrough measures, accelerate dual transformation, and treat green and digital transformation as essential to raising productivity and competitiveness.
Enterprises are encouraged to apply AI and Big Data in management and production, and to comply with stringent environmental standards. They should also adopt a structured market strategy, develop a long-term “Go Global” plan linked with IP protection and the utilization of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and leverage intrinsic cultural values and Vietnamese human capital to create sustainable differentiation for products and services.
The National Brand program has drawn up a strategic roadmap to 2035, with a vision to 2045, and concrete goals to turn the National Brand into a driver of competitiveness.
Hoang Minh Chien emphasizes that in the Go Global era, the question for Vietnamese enterprises is no longer “to do or not,” but whether they have enough capability to go far and sustain it. He frames the shift from “contract manufacturing for the world” to “design and create value by Vietnam” as key to affirming Vietnam’s position as a self-reliant and prosperous nation on the international stage.
Vietnam’s National Brand must advance into the green era.
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