Viettel proposes a national program to expand Vietnam's economic space internationally

Expanding the economy’s space internationally is being framed as a key pillar of national growth, requiring proactive engagement with developed markets to upgrade technology and standards, while positioning Vietnam as an international destination to attract global value flows.

Ta Duc Thang, Chairman and CEO of Viettel, said that since the early days of 2026, Viettel has implemented coordinated measures across its operations with the aim of achieving double-digit growth.

Viettel’s 2026 performance and overseas momentum

In Q1 2026, Viettel reported 107% of its quarterly plan, up 19% year-on-year. The overseas investment segment continued to grow at nearly 30%, contributing close to 60% of total group growth.

Based on this performance, Viettel’s leadership proposed measures to broaden Vietnam’s economic space through outward investment.

Policy and strategic rationale for outward investment

First, Vietnam’s international position has been elevated, with economic diplomacy becoming a strategic priority under the Party and State’s guidance.

Second, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW on deeper international integration, setting tasks to “encourage Vietnamese enterprises to invest and operate effectively abroad” and to “build and protect national brands at the international level.” Resolution 68-NQ/TW on the private sector and Resolution 79-NQ/TW on the state economy also point to the goal that Vietnamese enterprises should be in the top tier of the region and the world, requiring companies to reach out to the world to achieve that.

Third, Vietnam has developed enterprises with foreign investment experience, including FPT (software export strategy since 1998), Petrovietnam (nearly 24 years of capability in global energy projects), Vingroup (nearly 10 years exporting automobiles to the U.S. and Europe), and Viettel (more than 20 years investing internationally in telecommunications and digital solutions).

Beyond economic gains, outward investment is also described as supporting Party diplomacy, state diplomacy, and defense diplomacy. General Secretary To Lâm emphasized during visits to Viettel Cambodia on 13 July 2024 that outward investment “not only yields economic benefits but also serves national political, foreign, and defense interests, enhancing Vietnam's image and standing.”

Six foundational contents of Viettel’s outward investment strategy

Ta Duc Thang outlined six foundational contents for outward investment:

• Mindset: expanding the economy’s space internationally is a cornerstone of national growth. Outward investment is described as organizing the economy in a two-way direction—expanding abroad while attracting global resources into Vietnam.
• Space: in addition to traditional markets, focus should be placed on developing markets in ASEAN, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, where Vietnam’s implementation capacity is suitable. At the same time, Vietnam should proactively engage developed markets to upgrade technology and standards and position Vietnam as an international destination to attract global value flows.
• Priority areas: focus on strategic infrastructure, high-tech industries, and high-value services that can attract international expenditure.
• Competitive advantages: maximize Vietnam’s adaptable human resources, reasonable costs, and strong practical deployment capacity; leverage experience in large-scale infrastructure and service development to export not only products but also models; and build on a deeply integrated network and an improving national reputation, with a particularly balanced position in international relations.
• Organizing force: form leading economic groups to lead, organizing enterprises to go international through an ecosystem model. These organizations should act as “national prime contractors” capable of integrating, deploying, and guiding other firms into the value chain—an approach described as successful in Japan and Korea and pursued at scale by China.
• Policy mechanisms: a national-level approach is required, drawing on international experience such as Japan’s JETRO and JICA, Korea’s KOTRA and KOICA, and China’s Belt and Road strategy.

Concrete solutions proposed

From these six foundational contents, Viettel’s chairman proposed the following solutions:

1. Build a national program to expand the economy’s space internationally.
2. Pilot special mechanisms, accepting risk for key groups when investing in new technology sectors or strategic markets.
3. Establish government-backed financial mechanisms and risk guarantees to protect enterprises against geopolitical fluctuations.
4. Upgrade the role of foreign representative offices abroad to become true market-development hubs.
5. Regularly review and assess the results of state-level cooperation agreements to ensure substance and effectiveness.

Outlook and emphasis on national-level organization

“If we cannot form a national-level organizational structure, Vietnamese enterprises will continue to go out in a piecemeal fashion and will struggle to build global competitiveness. Expanding the economy's space internationally is not a choice; it is a necessary path for Vietnam to rise in the next period,” Ta Duc Thang said.