Business establishment surges in Q1 despite COVID-19
Business establishment surges in Q1 despite COVID-19
Up to 29,700 new firms were established in Viet Nam in the first quarter of this year with total registered capital of more than VND351 trillion (US$15 billion), up 4.4 per cent in the number of enterprises but down 6.4 per cent in capital compared to the same period last year. 
Average registered capital per newly-established enterprise reached VND11.8 billion during the period, down 10.4 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Most of the newly-established enterprises specialised in the fields of wholesale, retail and automobile repair with 10,015 enterprises, up 7 per cent year-on-year, followed by those in the construction sector with 3,941, up 4 per cent and those in manufacturing and processing with 3,685, up 2 per cent.
The total number of labourers of newly-established enterprises in January-March was 243,700, down 23 per cent year-on-year, the GSO said.
The first three months saw 14,800 enterprises resume operation, down 2 per cent against last year’s corresponding period, bringing the total number of newly-registered and revived enterprises in the period to nearly 44,500.
According to the office, the number of enterprises temporarily ceasing operation in the period witnessed a yearly hike of 26 per cent to 18,600 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the number of enterprises which finished procedures for bankruptcy in the period fell1.3 per cent year-on-year to 4,100.
A GSO survey on business sentiment in the manufacturing and processing sector showed 39 per cent of enterprises predicted a positive outlook for their operation in the second quarter compared to the first quarter while 26 per cent foresaw more difficulties and 35.3 per cent expected business stability.
