British businesses need to wake-up to Vietnam as its economy is set to outpace the South-Pacific region
British entrepreneur Dominic Scriven OBE, who is founder and chairman of Dragon Capital, Vietnam’s largest independent fund manager, believes many British businesses and investors are missing out on the huge investment opportunities Vietnam offers, as the country’s economy builds for a landmark year of growth.
Dragon Capital predicts Vietnam’s economy will grow by 9% this year, outperforming all South-Pacific nations and cementing its position as a key gateway to the Indo-Pacific region. Despite this, the value of UK exports to Vietnam in the year to September 2025 was just £1.7bn. The country is only the UK’s 31st largest trading partner.
However, with the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in December 2024, and the existing UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), British firms enjoy unprecedented tariff-free access to Vietnam.
The call to action follows a transformative period for the Southeast Asian nation, which has successfully pivoted from low-cost textiles into a global hub for high-tech electronics and semiconductors. This shift is backed by a staggering trade performance; in 2025, Vietnam achieved a $20.0bn trade surplus, with total exports growing by 17% over the same period the previous year.
Former US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, who is currently senior vice president and regional managing director of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), believes Vietnam has the potential to become a top 20 world economy within the next two decades.
Scriven highlights the “Green Industrial Revolution” as a potential natural bridge between the UK and Vietnam. Vietnam has committed to Net Zero by 2050 and requires 6GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. With the UK leading the $15.5bn Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) – a financing mechanism designed to help coal-dependent developing nations transition to renewable energy – British engineering and green finance firms are in pole position to build the infrastructure which includes 3,200km of new expressways and massive LNG-to-power plants.
He also cites a landmark 2025 breakthrough which means that Vietnam now recognises pharmaceutical approvals from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which could be worth up to £250m to British pharmaceutical companies over the next five years.
Dominic Scriven OBE, founder and chairman of Dragon Capital said: “Vietnam is no longer just a ‘China Plus One’ manufacturing play; it is a sophisticated, high-growth economy in its own right. Our research into 1,500 listed Vietnamese companies shows consistent, stable growth across the board, leading us to project a 20% increase in profits for them in the coming year. For British businesses and investors, the combination of the recent market reclassification from frontier to emerging market, and robust corporate earnings presents an incredibly attractive window of opportunity.”
Drivers of the 2026 economic boom in Vietnam Vietnam’s growth is underpinned by several structural pillars:
- · High-Tech Transition: Strategic shifts into semiconductors and digital technology, with the sector generating $198bn in revenue in 2025.
- · Infrastructure Spend: Billions are being funnelled into deep-water ports and the Long Thanh International Airport to support the booming export sector.
- · Demographic Dividend: With 68% of its 100 million people of working age, Vietnam has a youthful, highly trainable workforce.
Scriven added: “As Vietnam prepares for a potentially record-breaking 2026, the message to British business should be clear: the “Tiger Economy” of the 21st century has arrived. With competitive labour costs, a stable political environment, and a rapidly expanding middle class, the cost of ignoring Vietnam is becoming too high for any global-facing British business.”