The half-year data confirm commercial resilience in Vietnam’s largest market while driving home the urgent need for digital investment, anti-piracy measures and broader geographic reach if growth is to accelerate in the second half of 2026 and beyond.

Ho Chi Minh City’s publishing and distribution sector generated nearly VND3 trillion ($114.6 million) in the first half of 2026, according to the municipal Department of Culture and Sports. The figure rams home the city’s continued dominance in Vietnam’s book market and was reviewed at an official conference on 21 August.

Core production and sales metrics

Tre Publishing House and Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House released 780 titles, totalling almost 1.9 million copies plus 600,000 other publications. Their combined revenue reached VND88.684 billion ($3.39 million).

The distribution network sold more than 50 million book copies. Fahasa led with over VND2.121 trillion ($81 million), while Phuong Nam Bookstore recorded more than VND312 billion ($11.9 million). Ho Chi Minh City Book Street contributed over VND32.2 billion ($1.23 million).

National context and market scale

These results sit (sorry – common AI word, but the right one here) within a national industry that reported publishing revenue of about VND4.165 trillion ($70 million) in 2025, with distribution revenue at VND5.23 trillion.

Ho Chi Minh City remains the commercial centre, with Fahasa operating the country’s largest bookstore chain.

Book Street, established in 2016, has generated cumulative revenue exceeding VND433 billion over a decade, increasingly functioning as a cultural destination rather than a pure retail outlet.

Reading-culture initiatives

The city expanded community outreach through the “Apartment Book Fair” model, first piloted in Cat Lai Ward, and the sixth Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Book Fair, which delivered more than 150 activities across central sites, rental housing and hospitals.

Persistent structural challenges

Delegates highlighted uneven access to reading culture between urban and suburban areas, limited investment in e-commerce technology and management tools, a shortage of titles addressing ideological and anti-corruption themes, and ongoing copyright infringement and pirated printing. These issues mirror national concerns that continue to constrain sustainable growth.

Leadership development

The Vietnam Publishers Association appointed Nguyen Ngoc Hoi, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, as Vice Chairman, signalling closer integration between municipal administration and the national industry body. Outstanding contributors to the 2026 Tet Book Street Festival and Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day were also recognised.

The View From The Beach

For publishing professionals, the half-year data confirm commercial resilience in Vietnam’s largest market while driving home the urgent need for digital investment, anti-piracy measures and broader geographic reach if growth is to accelerate in the second half of 2026 and beyond.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.