Nearly 30% of enterprises plan to expand despite economic woes

Up to 30 per cent of domestic enterprises as well as 8 per cent of foreign-invested firms plan to expand operations in Viet Nam, investing US$17.2 million and $21.7 million, respectively.

The information is based on Viet Nam Industrial Investor Survey’s preliminary findings released in Ha Noi yesterday.

The survey was organised by the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment and ran from November 2010 until March 2011.

Over 1,490 manufacturing and construction enterprises, nearly 60 per cent of which were foreign-invested, took part. Firms were selected randomly across Ha Noi, Vinh Phuc, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Binh Duong, Da Nang, HCM City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Preliminary results found that 60 per cent of foreign-invested businesses were made aware of investment opportunities through existing investor communities in Viet Nam while 14 per cent received information via parent networks with only 2 per cent utilising Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad.

All surveyed enterprises considered business support services important, each investment state requiring different types of assistance.

At the pre-investment stage, both domestic and foreign-invested firms sought services related to market information, taxation and government regulations while at implementation stage, firms needed support in human resource engagement.

At the operational state, information on financing domestic firms was seen as most important while information concerning complaint resolution relating to state laws attracted attention from foreign-invested companies.

In accordance with local business climate changes over the past three years, businesses confirmed that economic stability and infrastructure quality had improved although the country’s legal framework had remained the same.

“The survey will provide policy markers with useful data related to assessing the impact of the foreign-invested sector on Viet Nam’s economic development,” Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong said yesterday.

Findings are planned to be consolidated on the web-based interactive Viet Nam Investment Monitoring Platform, enabling authorities and enterprises to better understand the domestic investment environment. – VNS

Tags: Vietnam companies, Vietnam enterprises, Vietnam SMEs