Vietnam Economic Times August 10 2026

Dear readers,

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, along with a high-level delegation, left Hanoi on August 9 for State visits to Australia and New Zealand from August 9 to 14. This is his first official visit to the two Oceanian countries in his capacity as head of the Party and State of Vietnam.

The visits take place in the context of Vietnam actively collaborating with Australia and New Zealand to implement respective bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships, in which economic and trade relations are considered one of the most important pillars.

On this occasion, Vietnam Economic Times would like to dedicate the opening pages of this edition to reviewing relations between Vietnam and Australia and Vietnam and New Zealand, especially economic and trade relations, which it’s believed will be elevated to new heights following the visit.

Our Cover Story in this edition, meanwhile, will focus on the potential and prospects of the real-world asset (RWA) market in Vietnam.

RWAs are a new but highly effective fundraising channel developing rapidly around the world at an ever-increasing scale, especially in countries with strong financial markets. According to the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Assets Association, the global RWA market increased from $6 billion in January 2025 to over $34 billion within the next 16 months, and in 2025 alone the volume of capital flowing into RWAs increased by 300 per cent; significantly higher than many other asset groups. According to a report released in May by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), under its Scenario 2, by 2035 it is estimated that RWAs will stand at $46 trillion, accounting for 9 per cent of investable assets globally.

A related endeavor, asset tokenization, is in essence the process of converting the rights to a RWA into a digital token on a blockchain. This digital representation allows for assets to be easily traded, tracked, and managed on a decentralized platform.

Vietnam has significant demand for capital for infrastructure, production, innovation, and digital transformation, and therefore is seen as having many significant opportunities to ride the RWA wave to expand capital sources, attract international investment, and enhance liquidity for domestic assets.

Furthermore, RWAs are expected to become a new component of Vietnam’s financial market, potentially adding significant value and contributing to diversifying fundraising channels for the national economy, which is in a race to achieve annual double-digit growth to 2030.

According to Mr. Jeffrey Tchui, Executive Director & Head of APAC at Hashgraph, RWAs are an area where Vietnam can make a breakthrough, as the country has many advantages in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and the carbon market, and tokenization can help Vietnam enhance competitiveness in these sectors in the international market.

Thus, Vietnam boasts many advantages and potential for developing the RWA market. However, the question is which types of assets it should prioritize tokenizing to leverage competitive advantages and promote the RWA market.

Our Cover Story therefore provides readers with updated information on the prospects for the RWA market; an overview of the global tokenization market and opportunities for Vietnam; and analyses of the necessary legal framework for the RWA market to develop in Vietnam in order to unlock a new source of capital; while also forecasting the issues Vietnam needs to address when implementing the tokenization of RWAs to create new capital flows for the economy.

Warmest regards

Dr. CHU VAN LAM
CHAIRMAN OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD