Registered business capital surges as weaker firms exit

Registered business capital surges as weaker firms exit

Updates from the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance on August 3 showed that the country recorded more than 125,900 firms registered from January to July, up 16.9 per cent year-on-year, with total registered capital reaching over VNĐ1.5 quadrillion (US$58 billion), up 63.6 per cent.

Production at KD Heat Technology in Thái Nguyên Province. More than 125,900 new firms were founded from January to July, up 16.9 per cent year-on-year. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

 Newly registered business capital surged rapidly in the first seven months of this year, reflecting stronger investment momentum, while a sharp increase in business exits signalled a major restructuring towards more resilient, capital-intensive industries.

Updates from the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance on August 3 showed that the country recorded more than 125,900 firms registered from January to July, up 16.9 per cent year-on-year, with total registered capital reaching over VNĐ1.5 quadrillion (US$58 billion), up 63.6 per cent.

The average registered capital per newly established firm reached VNĐ12.1 billion, nearly 40 per cent higher than in 2025, indicating that new businesses were being formed on a larger scale.

Including additional capital from existing businesses, total capital injected into the economy during the seven-month period reached VNĐ3.6 quadrillion, up 7.3 per cent year-on-year.

These increases show that investors were increasingly moving away from smaller business models and towards enterprises with stronger financial foundations and greater capacity to withstand macro-economic uncertainties.

On average, 26,700 enterprises entered the market or resumed operations each month during the period.

However, January through July saw a sharp rise in the number of businesses leaving the market.

NSO data showed that nearly 31,200 enterprises completed dissolution procedures in the first seven months, up 118.7 per cent from the same period last year.

In July alone, the number of businesses suspending operations jumped 136.8 per cent year-on-year, while those that completed dissolutions surged 269.9 per cent.

These figures reflect continued restructuring pressure, with an average of 22,200 enterprises operating in the market each month.

Contrasting trends between business formation and withdrawal show that the market was entering a stronger restructuring phase in which financially weak firms, those facing cash flow difficulties or those unable to adapt to changing conditions were gradually being filtered out, while capital continued to flow into businesses with stronger foundations.

The data also revealed a notable gap between investment scale and labour demand.

Despite newly registered capital rising 63.6 per cent, the number of registered employees at newly established enterprises fell 10.9 per cent year-on-year to nearly 597,300, reflecting a shift from a labour-intensive growth model towards a more capital- and technology-driven economy.

New firms appeared to be focusing more on machinery investment, digitalisation and automation to improve productivity instead of expanding their workforce on a large scale.

Labour-intensive sectors such as construction and wholesale and retail continued to face strong pressure, with the number of dissolved enterprises rising by 128.5 per cent and 125.1 per cent, respectively.

The real estate sector recorded a 135.3 per cent increase in dissolved enterprises, about six times higher than the growth rate of newly established firms in the sector.

Meanwhile, more capital was flowing into capital-intensive and technology-driven industries such as electricity, gas and water production and distribution, which rose by 74.5 per cent during the seven-month period. 

Bizhub