During the session on February 24, Party General Secretary Lam outlined ambitious economic growth targets of at least 8% for 2025, laying the groundwork for double-digit rates in the coming years.

Party General Secretary To Lam addresses the working session with the Party Central Committee's Commission for Policies and Strategies on February 24.

He also provided orientations for digital asset and currency management in Vietnam.

The Party chief commended the commission for its report on measures to achieve economic growth of at least 8% in 2025, setting the stage for double-digit expansion thereafter, and agreed with 10 solutions outlined in the report.

He emphasised the need to engage all economic sectors, businesses, and citizens in socio-economic development, making contributions for national growth. The leader stressed that all institutions, policies, and mechanisms must be designed towards this goal.

In order to promote fast and sustainable growth, Vietnam's economic strategy must promote reforms in both supply side and demand side, he underscored.

Regarding supply, the Party chief pointed to the need to strongly accelerate institutional reforms and improve the business environment, reduce administrative processing times by at least 30% in 2025, cut business costs by at least 30%, particularly in customs, regulatory compliance, and informal fees, remove at least 30% of unnecessary business conditions, and position Vietnam among ASEAN’s top three investment destinations within the next 2–3 years.

It is necessary to develop a specialised legal framework to support the rapid evolution of the digital economy, financial technology, AI, platform economy, e-commerce, and special economic zones.

Alongside, there is a need to establish regulatory sandboxes for emerging technologies and introduce tailored legal frameworks for special economic and technological zones, including preferential tax policies and unique dispute resolution mechanisms, while improving land and real estate market policies to unlock investment and urban development, building a national digital map for land planning and pricing, and establishing a national housing fund to support affordable housing in major cities.

General Secretary Lam also directed the implementation of open financial policies to develop Vietnam into a major international financial centre and a logistics hub, along with the creation of a "National Investment Single Window" to attract foreign investors.

Particularly, he stressed the need to tackle environmental issues, particularly air pollution in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The leader sketched out policies on human resources development, decentralisation and measures to deal with an aging population.

Meanwhile, the demand-side measures include increasing Government investment in strategic infrastructure, ensuring both quantity and quality; enhancing private sector investment by fostering a transparent, secure, and low-cost business environment; strengthening domestic consumption to create a sustainable growth engine; boosting exports; adjusting land policies; introducing new cooperative models in agriculture; and implementing an expansionary fiscal policy and a flexible monetary policy, and prudent monetary easing.

Regarding digital assets and cryptocurrency, Lam agreed with the commission’s recommendation to regulate digital currencies as virtual assets.

He stressed the urgency of creating a legal framework to prevent economic and social risks while ensuring these assets contribute to national economic growth.

He urged the National Assembly and Government agencies to institutionalise and formalise regulations in this field, including the introduction of a controlled regulatory sandbox for digital asset exchanges.