With more than six decades of formation and development, Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel tying itself to the history of Vietnam’s metallurgical industry and now facing the need to build new momentum in the current development period

From removing difficulties to creating markets

The final days of July and early days of August 2026 marked new signals for Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation. On July 31, 2026, through the connections facilitated by Thai Nguyen Province, TISCO signed memoranda of understanding with 12 investors and businesses in need of 168,000 tons of steel for works and projects in the area. Just over a week later, on August 8, 2026, TISCO went on to sign with six project investors, with a total steel demand of 75,000 tons. Across the two rounds of connections, the steel demand established in the memoranda of understanding reached 243,000 tons. Behind these telling figures lies the market-connecting mindset of Thai Nguyen’s provincial leadership.

Instead of merely holding meetings to hear businesses report their difficulties, Thai Nguyen Province has shifted decisively toward a mindset of proactively seeking solutions, directly connecting business needs with projects being implemented in the area. The general policy has been translated into specific actions, with a clear target, a product, and a market. Under the direct direction of the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, the Department of Construction, the Office of the Provincial People’s Committee, and related agencies coordinated to review and connect investors and construction contractors with Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation. As a result, parties in need of steel and steel manufacturers in the area have had the opportunity to directly discuss products, technical specifications, supply schedules, pricing, services, and cooperation possibilities.

Connection activities between TISCO and investors and contractors in the province concretizing the spirit of standing alongside businesses through solutions with clear targets and specific products

Mr. Nguyen Van Thoi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TNG Land Joint Stock Company, investor of the Residential Area No. 2 Project in Tien Hoi Commune - one of six investors that recently signed a memorandum of understanding with TISCO - says: “Thai Nguyen Province’s proactive connection of investors and contractors with TISCO gives us an additional supply source right in the province, making it easier for us to discuss technical matters, delivery schedules, and transport arrangements. For construction projects, what we care about most is still product quality, competitive pricing, and the ability to supply on schedule. TISCO is a brand with long-standing prestige, so we hope that after these memoranda of understanding, the two sides will soon translate them into actual contracts and build a stable, long-term cooperative relationship.”

It can be said that this is a highly notable innovation in the way the government stands alongside businesses. The government does not decide which businesses must buy products from which other businesses. What the government can do, and is doing, is open the door to connections, creating a more transparent and favorable opportunity for market access. The rest belongs to the competitiveness of businesses themselves. Because connection only opens the door. For a product to step through that door, businesses must still prove themselves through quality, price, schedule, and service.

And this has been affirmed through the commitments on product quality, supply schedule, competitive pricing policy, and flexible, comprehensive cooperation mechanisms made by Mr. Nguyen Minh Hanh, Secretary of the Party Committee, Member of the Board of Directors, and General Director of Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation, at the two memorandum-of-understanding signing events held recently.

Turning Resolution No. 79-NQ/TW into concrete actions

The Thai Nguyen provincial government’s support for TISCO is not merely about removing an immediate difficulty. More importantly, it is about creating an environment for an industrial enterprise with a long tradition to innovate on its own, enhance its competitiveness, and engage more deeply in supply chains and major projects. Government support is only truly sustainable when it is converted into the company’s own development capacity. And further still, it should strongly drive the connection, self-innovation, and creativity of state-owned enterprises across the province.

Resolution No. 79-NQ/TW establishes that the state economic sector must pioneer development, lead, and pave the way, while also requiring the consolidation and development of state-owned enterprises to truly become an important material force of the state economy. Among the fields where strong, leading enterprises need to be formed, the Resolution directly mentions mineral extraction and processing, construction, and construction materials. Another notable direction set by Resolution 79 is to encourage state-invested enterprises to link up with other businesses in the value chain, mobilize social resources, innovate technology, undertake digital and green transformation, and improve governance efficiency. At the same time, prestigious national brands must continue to be invested in to operate more effectively. Viewed against these requirements, the TISCO story is not simply about supporting steel output consumption.

For a state-invested enterprise closely tied to the industrial development history of Thai Nguyen and Vietnam’s metallurgical industry, the bigger question is how to effectively harness the resources accumulated over decades: brand, people, production systems, markets, metallurgical experience, and position in the industrial chain. For this reason, the province’s support needs to be viewed from both directions.

On one hand, the government continues to decisively remove difficulties and obstacles within its authority, strengthen coordination among departments and sectors, create a favorable production and business environment, and provide information and connect businesses with projects, investors, and contractors. On the other hand, TISCO must innovate more vigorously on its own. Because in the end, what keeps customers is not a single connection, but steel quality, pricing, delivery schedules, technical service, and brand reputation. This is also how Resolution 79 is substantively put into practice: the state creates conditions and stands alongside; businesses act proactively, creatively, and take responsibility for their own effectiveness.

From a brand of history to a brand of the future

To the people of Thai Nguyen, TISCO is not just the name of a business or a memory of the “cradle of the metallurgical industry”, but carries a much deeper meaning. A strong, thriving TISCO matters far beyond the company itself. Behind hundreds of thousands of tons of steel are jobs and incomes for thousands of workers; a source of budget revenue; a network of supporting businesses; and an important link in the province’s industrial ecosystem. Precisely because of this historical depth and TISCO’s inherent standing, the requirement set out by Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Vuong Quoc Tuan - “Preserving and promoting the value of a steel brand of national stature” - carries a meaning that goes beyond mere encouragement. It is also a requirement for development. For tradition is only truly valuable when it becomes a resource for the future.

Moving from memoranda of understanding to actual orders requiring TISCO to continue improving quality, supply capacity, and customer service

A steel brand of national stature in the new period cannot be established by tradition alone. That brand must be measured by more modern technology, higher productivity, and lower energy consumption; by products that increasingly meet the diverse needs of major projects; and by the capacity for digital transformation, green transformation, and governance to modern standards. This is also precisely the direction set out by Resolution No. 79-NQ/TW for the state economic sector: improving efficiency, applying advanced technology, pursuing innovation, undertaking digital and green transformation, and building highly competitive enterprises.

In its socio-economic development strategy, alongside strongly promoting the private economic sector and attracting FDI, Thai Nguyen is also placing particular emphasis on developing the state economic sector in line with the spirit of Resolution No. 79-NQ/TW, regarding it as an important material force and a driving momentum that leads, paves the way, and lays the foundation for sustainable growth. For TISCO, this attention and support are not only a source of immediate assistance but also set a requirement to innovate more vigorously: turning the province’s support into self-driven momentum; turning cooperation memoranda into steel shipments that actually leave the factory; and turning more than six decades of tradition into competitiveness, production and business efficiency, and a new standing for the TISCO steel brand in today’s market.

From the first batch of pig iron in 1963 to the new contracts of 2026 is a very long journey. The metallurgical flame in Thai Nguyen has gone through many ups and downs. And today, with the province’s decisive support and the company’s own efforts to innovate, a new source of momentum has been activated for TISCO to continue preserving a proud past and promoting the value of a steel brand of national stature through its own competitiveness in this new development phase.