A new dynamism is creating more prosperity and stability in Asia as nations across the region are joining together politically and through trade, speakers said on November 25 at the opening plenary session of the Horasis Asia Meeting, which officially begins on November 26.
Speaking at the event, Tran Van Nam, the Party Secretary of Binh Duong Province, said that Vietnam’s open economy had strengthened its position within ASEAN to compete in the digital economy.
“Vietnam’s strong economic indicators suggest it can hold a key position in the resurgence of Asia,” he said.
Speakers and delegates at the plenary discussed what the future of Asia might be, and whether diversity and cultural identities could be maintained while aspiring to unity.
More than 400 senior executives and CEOs from over 60 countries, as well as 400 government leaders and top executives from Vietnam’s largest businesses, are attending the meeting, hosted by Binh Duong Province.
Ton Nu Thi Ninh, president of the HCM City Peace and Development Foundation, told Vietnam News: “The Horasis Asia Meeting is attended by CEOs of the world’s most respected corporations, key leaders from emerging markets, and public figures. Such a meeting acts as a platform to advance solutions to the most critical challenges we are facing today.”
Ninh said she would speak about the future of Asian geopolitics, focusing on China-US relations, the rise of China, and the new roles of ASEAN.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung will address the opening ceremony today.
A range of activities will be held during the two-day meeting, with four plenary sessions and 36 dialogue sessions.
Plenary sessions will include discussions on new trends in technology and the status of the regional and global economy, with presentations and speeches made by global leaders and respected experts.
New business models, support for start-up businesses, and solutions for smart cities, in addition to the challenges of the Fourth Industial Revolution, will be the focus of the sessions.
Vietnamese enterprises at the meeting will also have the opportunity to connect with senior partners, founders, and CEOs of leading companies in Asia, the region and the world.
Mai Hung Dung, standing vice chairman of Binh Duong People’s Committee, said the province was proud to be chosen as the host of the Horasis Asia Meeting 2018, shortly after its successful hosting of the 11th conference of the World Technopolis Association.
Binh Duong Smart City was honoured recently as one of “The World’s 21 Smartest Cities in 2019” by the Intelligent Community Forum, he noted.
“The event is an opportunity to promote the image of Binh Duong and Vietnam with international partners, and to improve management capacity as well as the science and technology level of Vietnam, with the aim of speeding up the building of smart cities,” he said.
Binh Duong is considered one of Vietnam’s major economic hubs, with strong industrial development, he added.
Pham Hong Hai, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, noted that Binh Duong Province had seen robust economic growth with improvement in administration, emerging at the top of the infrastructure index in the Provincial Competitiveness Index 2016.
“All of these factors have made Binh Duoơng an ideal destination for investors. The province has become one of the country’s key industrial hubs, with strong investment in infrastructure and modern industrial parks to attract foreign investors,” he said.
“This robust development requires new urban areas to serve the growing numbers of new businesses and residents,” he said.
Dr. Frank-Jürgen Richter, chairman and founder of Horasis, said: “We are very impressed with the strength and economic potential of the Vietnamese economy and Binh Duoơng Province. There is good infrastructure with a state-of-the-art conference centre, and we have had great support from the local government as the host of our meeting.”
A session will also be held on the province’s investment opportunities in hi-tech industries, supporting industries, information technology, construction, human resource development and vocational training, among other fields.
The meeting will also discuss Artificial Intelligence (AI), the ongoing development of the education sector, and business innovation.
The event is hosted by Binh Duong People’s Committee in collaboration with the Horasis Global Visions Community, Becamex IDC Corporation, VSIP Group, All India Management Association (AIMA) and the Young Premier Leadership Organisation (YPO).
The Horasis Asia Meeting is convened by Horasis: The Global Visions Community.
From a property-market perspective, Do Thi Thu Giang, National Director of Valuation and Advisory at Savills Vietnam, said the orientations under Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW could make the market more transparent and efficient, with property values increasingly tied to actual development and use potential.
Chinese carmakers are putting new pressure on prices and technology while testing Vietnam’s ability to retain more value.
Science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and AI must be translated into higher productivity rather than pursued as ends in themselves. At the same time, people should be placed at the centre of development, not merely viewed as a resource but as the ultimate objective of development policies.
US retail giant Target is seeking Vietnamese suppliers of household goods, home textiles, children’s products, personal care and beauty products, with a focus on companies capable of manufacturing and developing products that meet requirements on quality, design and supply chain management.
The annual event, which will be held on August 18-19, 2026, at the ICE International Exhibition Centre, 91 Tran Hung Dao Street, Hanoi, is expected to attract around 324 delegates and feature 21 booths representing credit institutions, payment intermediary service providers, and technology companies.
Vietnam should give priority to areas where it has potential to build strengths, particularly manufacturing and packaging.
Vietnam has built a solid semiconductor and electronics industry before joining ITSI, attracting major US semiconductor companies. Intel Products Vietnam is one of Intel's largest assembly and testing facilities worldwide, while chip design companies such as Synopsys, Cadence, Marvell and Qualcomm have established engineering and research centres in the Southeast Asian country.
According to the Ministry of Construction, Vietnam has around 2,500 old apartment blocks and collective housing complexes built before 1994, covering about 3 million square metres of floor space, mainly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Of these, around 196 have been classified as severely deteriorated and unsafe.
Durian exports reached nearly 1.1 billion USD in the first six months of 2026, up 32% year-on-year. The industry's strongest export season, however, is still ahead.
The country's agro-forestry-aquatic product exports reached nearly 42.8 billion USD in the January–July period, up 7.5% year-on-year and equivalent to almost 60% of the annual target of 74 billion USD.
During the first seven months of 2026, Vietnam attracted more than 38 billion USD in registered FDI, up nearly 58% year-on-year. More importantly, the increase was driven by large-scale, high-tech projects rather than a surge in the number of new investments, signalling a significant improvement in the quality of capital inflows.
Manufacturing and engineering posted the strongest recruitment growth, with hiring demand surging 70% year-on-year, driven by production expansion, supply chain restructuring and sustained investment inflows in high-tech manufacturing.
Vietnam's total import-export turnover reached 659.58 billion USD in the first seven months of 2026, up 28.1% year-on-year.
The projects in Phu Quoc have been implemented under tight deadlines. Since May 2025, the Prime Minister has directed preparations for APEC 2027, including accelerated infrastructure development on the special zone. An Giang province and investors have subsequently launched a number of major projects involving complex technical requirements and demanding construction schedules.
The NSO also reported that realised FDI reached an estimated 15.2 billion USD during the January-July period, an increase of 11.8% from a year earlier and the highest seven-month disbursement recorded over the past five years.
Household deposits at banks reached a new high of 10.8 quadrillion VND (414 billion USD) at the end of May, up more than 108 trillion VND from April and increasing by 4.76% from the beginning of the year, equivalent to nearly 492 trillion VND.
The plan seeks to develop a balanced and modern financial market that is closely integrated with regional and global markets, strengthens the mobilisation and allocation of domestic and foreign capital, and enhances the market’s role as a key provider of medium- and long-term capital for the economy and as a major driver of sustained high economic growth.
Under the province's master plan for 2021–2030 with a vision to 2050, An Giang will prioritise investment in five strategic sectors: strategic infrastructure; processing industries and clean energy; trade, services, logistics and border-gate economy; high-quality tourism; and high-tech agriculture, ecological development and the circular economy.
According to the VCCI, these measures are not only necessary for managing potential risks arising from US trade actions but also crucial to enhancing competitiveness and meeting growing international expectations on compliance, product origin, quality and transparency.
Businesses say the biggest obstacle to reducing emissions and transforming production models remains the lack of financial resources needed to upgrade technologies, modernise production lines and build governance systems that comply with global sustainability standards.