Inaugural CRIF Forum Vietnam 2026 highlights how trusted data can strengthen investor confidence, enterprise competitiveness and more resilient growth
As Vietnam seeks to translate strong investment and manufacturing momentum into higher-value, more resilient growth, business leaders will increasingly need to compete not only on cost and production capacity, but also on transparency, credibility and their ability to make confident decisions in a more complex global environment.
This was a central message emerging from the inaugural CRIF Forum Vietnam 2026, held at Pan Pacific Hanoi under the theme “Empowering Growth with Trusted Data.” The Forum brought together representatives from government, financial institutions, international organisations and the private sector to examine how trusted information can support better decisions on investment, financing, technology adoption, supply chains and business growth.
Vietnam’s growth story has been built on manufacturing strength, exports and sustained foreign investment. As the economy moves into its next stage of development, the focus is increasingly shifting towards productivity, innovation, stronger domestic enterprises and deeper participation by Vietnamese companies in higher-value segments of global supply chains.
From attracting investment to building stronger Vietnamese enterprises
Opening the Forum, Nguyen Minh Tu, General Director, CRIF D&B Vietnam, highlighted the growing importance of reliable information as businesses, financial institutions and investors navigate a more interconnected and uncertain environment.
Nguyen Minh Tu, General Director of CRIF D&B Vietnam, delivers the opening remarks at CRIF Forum Vietnam 2026.
“Vietnam has built an extraordinary growth story, and the opportunities ahead remain significant. But as the economy becomes more sophisticated, the quality of decisions will increasingly depend on the quality of information behind them. Trusted data helps businesses, financial institutions and investors assess risks and identify opportunities with greater confidence. Trust is increasingly part of the infrastructure that allows capital to move, businesses to transact and enterprises to participate confidently in domestic and international markets.”
The importance of transparency and investor confidence was also addressed from the government perspective by Nguyen Xuan Tho, Deputy Director General, Agency for Private Enterprise and Cooperative Development, Ministry of Finance.
Nguyen Xuan Tho, Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Finance, shares the government perspective on transparency and investor confidence.
As Vietnam continues to modernise its financial markets and strengthen its attractiveness to domestic and international capital, transparent information, modern data infrastructure and stronger market institutions will become increasingly important to creating a trusted investment environment.
A recurring theme throughout the Forum was that Vietnam’s next growth chapter cannot be measured by investment inflows and manufacturing output alone. For Vietnamese enterprises, moving further up global value chains will require stronger productivity, digital capabilities, corporate transparency and the ability to demonstrate their credibility to banks, investors, customers and international partners.
This is particularly important as Vietnam seeks to strengthen connections between foreign-invested companies and domestic businesses and enable more Vietnamese enterprises to participate in higher-value segments of global supply chains.
Trusted data as infrastructure for the next economy
Trusted business information has an important role to play in this transition. Greater visibility into companies, counterparties, suppliers and commercial relationships can help financial institutions allocate capital with greater confidence, enable businesses to identify stronger partners and allow Vietnamese enterprises to demonstrate their capabilities to the wider market.
As AI accelerates decision-making, the quality and reliability of underlying data become even more critical
This is becoming increasingly relevant to Vietnam’s manufacturers and exporters. As international trade requirements evolve, businesses are expected to have greater visibility into their suppliers, counterparties, origin of goods and risks across their value chains. Transparency is therefore moving beyond an operational or compliance consideration and becoming increasingly connected to market access, financing, investment and competitiveness.
Technology is adding another dimension to this transformation. As organisations increasingly deploy artificial intelligence (AI) across operations and decision-making, the reliability of the underlying data becomes even more important. Faster decisions are not necessarily better decisions if the information feeding AI systems is incomplete, inaccurate or poorly governed, making high-quality data, appropriate governance, transparency and human oversight essential to responsible AI adoption.
The Forum also looked beyond Vietnam’s success as a manufacturing and export hub towards the foundations of a more innovation-driven economy. Discussions throughout the morning highlighted the importance of productivity, technology adoption, stronger domestic enterprise capabilities and trusted data in helping Vietnam create greater value and strengthen its competitiveness in an increasingly complex global economy.
Across the Forum, a common message emerged: Vietnam’s next phase of growth will depend not only on its ability to attract investment and expand production, but also on its ability to build stronger enterprises, more transparent business ecosystems and an environment in which information can be trusted and decisions can be made with greater confidence.
CRIF Forum Vietnam 2026 brought together speakers and perspectives from organisations including the Ministry of Finance, National Innovation Center, UK Export Finance, International Finance Corporation, Dragon Capital Vietnam, Vietcombank Fund Management, Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, alongside leaders from the financial, business and professional services sectors.
