For many years, Vietnam's growth has been driven by manufacturing, exports and foreign investment.

As the country enters a new phase of development, the economy is placing greater emphasis on improving productivity, promoting innovation and strengthening the capabilities of domestic businesses.

Accordingly, corporate competitiveness is no longer determined solely by costs or production capacity. Transparency, reputation and the ability to provide reliable information are increasingly important factors in helping businesses access capital, find partners and participate in higher-value supply chains.

Speaking at CRIF Forum Vietnam 2026 on August 27, Nguyen Minh Tu, CEO of CRIF D&B Vietnam, said Vietnam has enjoyed an impressive growth journey, while significant opportunities still lie ahead.

However, as the economy becomes increasingly developed and complex, decisions will depend more heavily on the quality of the information underpinning them.

Reliable data enables businesses, financial institutions and investors to assess risks, identify opportunities and make decisions with greater confidence.

According to Tu, trust is becoming an essential part of the economic foundation, helping capital flow, enabling businesses to conduct transactions and allowing them to expand in both domestic and international markets.

Will Ross of Dragon Capital Vietnam said Vietnam should become a destination for foreign investment. The Vietnamese government is currently making long-term investments in infrastructure, including the development of an international financial center.

He likened Vietnam to a cup of coffee with many different flavors that can attract foreign investors and create value. Vietnam needs to bring out these flavors for investors.

Transparency becomes competitive advantage

As Vietnam modernizes its financial markets and enhances its appeal to domestic and international capital, it will increasingly need modern data infrastructure alongside strong market institutions.

One recurring message at the forum was that Vietnam's next phase of growth cannot be measured solely by investment flows or manufacturing output.

To move further up global value chains, Vietnamese businesses must improve productivity, digital capabilities, governance quality and their ability to demonstrate credibility to banks, investors, customers and international partners.

This is particularly important as Vietnam promotes stronger links between foreign-invested enterprises and domestic businesses.

As international corporations impose increasingly stringent requirements, the ability to provide complete, transparent and verifiable information will become one of the conditions enabling Vietnamese businesses to enter higher-value links in the supply chain.

Reliable information about businesses, partners, suppliers and commercial relationships gives financial institutions greater confidence when allocating capital, helps businesses choose reputable partners and creates opportunities for Vietnamese companies to demonstrate their capabilities in major markets.

For manufacturing and export businesses, this requirement is even more pronounced as international trade standards continue to change. Companies need to exercise greater control over information about suppliers, product origins, partners and risks throughout their value chains.

In this context, transparency is no longer simply a matter of compliance or an internal operational requirement. It can become a factor directly determining a company's ability to access markets and capital, attract investment and strengthen its competitiveness.

Reliable data is the foundation for AI

The rapid development of technology, particularly AI, is creating new requirements for corporate data. As AI is increasingly used for analysis, forecasting and decision-making support, the quality of input data is becoming more important than ever.

An AI system can produce results quickly, but speed does not equate to quality if the underlying data is incomplete, inaccurate or poorly managed.

Therefore, high-quality data, appropriate governance mechanisms, transparency and human oversight will be important factors in enabling businesses to deploy AI effectively and responsibly.

From a broader perspective, CRIF Forum Vietnam 2026 highlights how the data story is connected to a major shift in Vietnam's economy: from an advantage based on manufacturing and exports toward a growth model increasingly driven by productivity, innovation and value-added activities.

As the global economy becomes increasingly complex, reliable data not only helps businesses reduce risks in individual transactions but also builds credibility in the market.

This can become a form of “intangible asset” that helps businesses gain easier access to capital, expand business relationships and gradually strengthen their position in global value chains.

As data becomes the basis for assessing credibility, more transparent businesses will have greater opportunities to access resources, while a reliable data ecosystem will become an important foundation for Vietnam's goal of building a more productive economy with higher value added.

Thai Khang