Abstract: In the past two decades after the economic reform, Vietnam has become one of fastest growing countries in Asia with an average growth rate of about 7.1% per annum, second only to China with 9.2% per annum. Vietnam is also known for its effort in poverty alleviation, minimising the negative effects of the economic development and liberalising the market to promote a more proactive role of the private sector. Achievements in the past are encouraging but they mainly come from efforts to remove obstacles built up by the old mechanism and liberate the productive forces. Still there are many obstacles to address if the country is to keep its pace in economic development. The current paper provides a broad analysis of those from the social, economic and institutional aspects and discusses their implications for economic management.