The Vietnamese government views publishing as a modern content industry.
Vietnam’s publishing industry reported robust performance for 2025. Sector revenue reached approximately £161 million, a year-on-year increase of nearly 9%, with over 610 million books distributed. Notably, the distribution segment grew by almost 9%, exceeding targets, reflecting stronger market demand and product diversification.
The Digital Shift Accelerates
A pivotal trend is the sector’s digital transformation. By end-2025, 67.3% of publishing houses were licenced for electronic publishing, indicating significant strategic movement.
This aligns with a global digital publishing market estimated at up to $120bn, offering a clear growth vector. Vietnamese publishers are actively digitising content; some are deploying AI for editing, personalisation, and e-book production.
Key players like the Truth National Political Publishing House have launched major digital libraries, while educational publishers are building big data systems to transform legacy content.
Strategic Imperatives for Competitiveness
Industry leaders advocate for a faster shift to technology-driven, commercial models to build regional competitiveness. Assoc. Prof. Pham Minh Tuan emphasises modernising editorial processes and expanding international markets.
Practical recommendations from platforms like Waka include prioritising e-book/audiobook output, streamlining digital licensing, and developing interactive multimedia publications. Combating piracy through enhanced security and consumer trust remains a critical challenge.
The View From The Beach
The Vietnamese government views publishing as a modern content industry. Policy is evolving to support new business models and technologies, with amendments to the Law on Publishing underway to better manage the digital space.
The focus for 2026 is on guiding publishers through this transition, enhancing capabilities, and reducing industry disparities.
Politics very much dictates what the industry can and cannot do, but it’s clear the Vietnamese govt. understands that success hinges on continued digital investment, workforce development, and a supportive legal framework, positioning Vietnam’s publishing for sustainable growth.
AI Note: Those that follow the TNPS newsletter via LinkedIn or the blog, will have seen a discussion on AI and censorship in my recent post Conversations With AI.
When I was drafting this post I asked Kimi AI (Chinese-owned) to do some background research for me. It shut down on me. The topic (Vietnam govt. policies) is apparently off-limits. But DeepSeek AI, also Chinese-owned, had no problem, begging the question was Kimi responding to Chinese govt. dictates or simply following the company’s policies?
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.
