# Vietnam economic growth and business trends > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/vietnam-economic-growth-and-business-trends > Updated: 2026-09-09T13:26:00.000Z. Sources: 24. Developments: 8. Vietnam continues to experience significant economic shifts. While the first half of 2026 saw a divergence between high GDP growth (8.18%) and high company exits, data from the first eight months of 2026 shows a complex trend in business activity. New business registrations and returning enterprises rose by 7.7% compared to the previous year, with registered capital increasing by 36.2% to 1,708 trillion VND. However, the number of employees registered by these new businesses fell by 15.4% to nearly 657,700, suggesting a more cautious approach to hiring or a shift toward automation. Recent data clarifies the high number of business deactivations. In the first eight months of 2026, nearly 95,000 tax codes were deactivated. Mai Son, Deputy Director of the General Department of Taxation, noted that approximately 72,000 of these cases involve outstanding files from 2025 or earlier being processed as part of a data-cleansing initiative. Only about 23,000 cases were new requests arising in 2026. This campaign targets businesses that have ceased operations without completing dissolution procedures or those no longer operating at registered addresses. Experts warn that businesses often mistakenly believe they have ceased operations simply by stopping trade, whereas they must legally follow formal suspension or dissolution procedures to avoid penalties. Expanding on this administrative effort, Nguyen Duc Huy of the Ministry of Finance stated that approximately 620,000 enterprises nationwide require processing. To address this, the Tax Department officially launched a major campaign in July 2026 titled ‘Cleaning Tax Codes - Removing Business Bottlenecks’. The initiative also aims to resolve the unauthorized use of personal information to register ‘ghost’ businesses. In September 2026, the Ministry of Finance and Customs Department proposed significant regulatory changes to lower the tax-free threshold for low-value imports to level the playing field against cross-border e-commerce. ## Timeline ### 2026-09-09: Vietnam tax authorities launch campaign to clean up tax codes Vietnam's tax authorities are conducting a nationwide campaign to clean up tax codes, processing nearly 95,000 files to resolve backlogs and remove inactive or fraudulent business registrations. 5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/dak-lak-business-dissolutions-surge-700-amid-economic-shifts ### 2026-09-07: Vietnam proposes lower tax-free thresholds for low-value imports Vietnam is proposing to lower the tax-free threshold for low-value imports to 100,000 VND to curb e-commerce tax evasion and is launching a campaign to expedite tax code closures for businesses. 13 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vietnam-tax-authorities-launch-campaign-to-clean-up-tax-ids ### 2026-09-03: Vietnam tax authorities launch campaign to clean up inactive business tax codes Vietnam is conducting a nationwide tax code clean-up campaign to resolve backlogs of inactive businesses and prevent tax fraud, even as new business registrations show steady growth. 11 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vietnam-business-trends-show-rising-capital-but-declining-labor-and-difficult-dissolution ### 2026-08-31: Vietnam GDP projected to surpass Thailand and Hong Kong by 2030 IMF forecasts suggest Vietnam's GDP will exceed Thailand and Hong Kong by 2030, driven by shifts in global supply chains and redirected trade flows in Asia. 3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vietnam-gdp-projected-to-surpass-thailand-and-hong-kong-by-2030 ### 2026-08-28: Vietnam economy projected to surpass Thailand in GDP by 2029 Vietnam is projected to potentially surpass Thailand in GDP scale by 2029, driven by higher medium-term growth rates according to IMF and World Bank data. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vietnam-economy-projected-to-surpass-thailand-in-gdp-by-2029 ### 2026-08-27: Vietnamese enterprises increase outward investment to $1.2 billion Vietnamese outward investment hit $1.2 billion in H1 2026, a 2.5x increase year-on-year, as firms pursue the government’s ‘Go Global’ initiative to expand into markets like Laos, Cambodia, and Kyrgyzstan. 4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vietnamese-enterprises-increase-outward-investment-to-12-billion ### 2026-08-22: Vietnam GDP surpasses $500 billion, ranking 35th globally Vietnam's GDP has grown over 70 times since 1990, exceeding $500 billion and moving the nation to 35th in global economic rankings. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vietnam-gdp-surpasses-500-billion-ranking-35th-globally ### 2026-08-20: Vietnam GDP grows 8.18% amid high business exit rates Despite Vietnam's GDP growing 8.18% in the first half of 2026, 151,100 businesses have exited the market, highlighting a gap in growth distribution between large firms and SMEs. 4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/vietnam-gdp-grows-818-amid-high-business-exit-rates --- Cite as: Vietnam economic growth and business trends. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/vietnam-economic-growth-and-business-trends