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Vietnamese businesses are increasingly turning to corporate restructuring to navigate global turbulence, including rising tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and cost pressures. This article examines how companies are adapting in practice, the legal restructuring options available, and key strategic considerations under Viet Nam’s evolving insolvency framework.
Viet Nam’s structural appeal to investors remains intact heading into 2026, but operating conditions are becoming more challenging amid the unfolding crisis in the Gulf region. Against this backdrop of geopolitical friction, rising logistics costs, and tightening trade barriers, businesses need more than resilience: they need structural responses.
Viet Nam’s economy expanded by 8.02 percent in 2025, marking the second-highest growth rate in 15 years, with over 20 percent of GDP coming from foreign direct investment (FDI). This momentum drives Viet Nam’s goal of further accelerating FDI attractiveness to achieve its ambitious growth targets.
Politburo Resolution No. 50 targets registered FDI of US$40-50 billion per year through 2030. With 16 active free trade agreements (FTAs), including the EU-Viet Nam FTA (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Viet Nam offers exporters preferential access to most of the world’s major markets.
In December 2025, the government established an International Financial Center framework under Decree No. 323/2025/ND-CP, reinforcing its ambition to deepen capital markets and attract global institutions.
These strengths remain intact, but the 2026 operating environment is materially more complex, as the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is causing major disruptions to global energy supply chains. For businesses facing higher trade, logistics, and compliance risks, corporate restructuring is becoming a practical tool for preserving resilience and repositioning for growth.
Viet Nam businesses face mounting pressure in 2026
Three structural forces are reshaping the competitive landscape for Vietnamese exporters, and all are likely to persist in the near term.
Rising logistics costs
Logistics costs have remained elevated since Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea forced major carriers to reroute around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope from late 2023. Container traffic through the Suez Canal fell 90 percent by early 2025 compared to its 2023 peak, according to maritime analytics firm Sino Shipping. The detour adds 10 to 15 days to Asia-Europe voyages, increases fuel consumption by up to 40 percent, and has kept spot freight rates 39 to 68 percent above pre-crisis levels, according to freight analyst Xeneta.
Recent conflict escalations are worsening the situation, exposing increasing cost burdens that weaken business resilience.
Dao Trong Khoa, Chairman of the Viet Nam Logistics Business Association (VLA), has noted that disrupted shipping schedules slow container circulation, compounding cash-flow risk for import-export firms. War-risk surcharges and peak-season premiums add further pressure on sectors including textiles, footwear, wood products, steel, and electronics.
Source: VietnamBriefing
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