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In a rare—if not unprecedented—moment since the death of Nguyễn Phú Trọng in 2024, a senior leader has openly cited private entities like Vingroup and Sun Group as models for national development.

The details: Speaking at the legislature on the morning of April 10, National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn emphasized that Việt Nam’s economic growth must be heavily intertwined with the rise of large private conglomerates.

According to Pháp Luật TP. Hồ Chí Minh, Mẫn stated : “Only when the private sector achieves double-digit growth can the country reach comparable levels of expansion. We need more major corporations like Vingroup and Sun Group.”

To illustrate his point, he noted that Vingroup completed the National Exhibition Center project in just 10 months. In contrast, state-led projects typically require three to four years merely to clear administrative procedures.

Context: This rhetoric aligns with the government's current push for a series of mega infrastructure projects. These include the North–South high-speed railway, Long Thành International Airport, and urban rail systems in Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City.

Because these initiatives require enormous capital that far exceeds the state budget’s capacity, the government is actively calling for deeper private sector participation, despite lingering concerns about whether private companies possess the capacity for such massive scales.

Notable development : At the end of 2025, Phú Quốc Airport was transferred from the state-owned Airports Corporation of Việt Nam (ACV) to Sun Group. This unprecedented deal was carried out under a special mechanism.

Analyst Nguyễn Anh Tuấn noted that this could set a precedent for future transfers, particularly if Long Thành Airport struggles under state operation.

However, Tuấn also argued that the transfer process lacked transparency. “It sets a highly concerning precedent,” he said, warning that crony capitalism could ultimately undermine the private sector’s true potential.

Historical context: In the 2000s, under former Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, Việt Nam experimented with building massive state-owned conglomerates to compete internationally. That effort ended in failure, highlighted by the near collapse of Vinashin in 2010, which left behind $4.5 billion in debt due to weak financial oversight, corruption, and political reliance.

While Nguyễn Phú Trọng later strengthened the state-centric economic model, Tô Lâm began to reverse it after assuming party leadership in August 2024. Tô Lâm has repeatedly promoted the private sector and openly criticized the inefficiencies of state-owned enterprises.

This shift was formalized on May 4, 2025, when the Politburo issued Resolution 68-NQ/TW, explicitly positioning private sector development as a “core force” and “one of the most important drivers of the national economy.”

Huỳnh Lam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on April 7, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.

Moving Past Vinashin: Trần Thanh Mẫn Champions Vingroup Model for Việt Nam

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