Some 53% of businesses in Vietnam reportedly paid informal charges to local authorities in 2019, far below the figure of 66% recorded in 2016, according to the Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2019.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will jointly publicise the 2019 provincial competitiveness index (PCI) at a ceremony in Hanoi on May 5.

The fact that nearly 35,000 enterprises have now withdrawn from the market three months after the COVID-19 outbreak first appeared in Vietnam reveals the huge impact it has had on business and production.

The number of businesses which stopped operation in Vietnam hit a record number of nearly 35,000 in the first quarter of this year, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

The expected execution of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in 2020 will create great pressure on Vietnamese logistics businesses, insiders said.

The health of businesses reflects the ‘health’ of the national economy. 

Institutional reforms will continue to be the major growth driver in 2020 and beyond, while a focus would be placed on removing barriers and connecting firms to establish value chains, VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said.

The proportion of women-owned businesses has tended to increase over recent years, from about 21% in 2011 to 24% in 2018, according to a survey report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

Vietnam's reform process needed to step up a gear in order for the country to become one of the top four in ASEAN in terms of business climate, Chairman of the VN Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said at a conference on Tuesday.

Though investment in condotels is expected to benefit the economy and the real estate sector, the condotel market is facing major challenges, heard attendees at a forum on the legal corridor for the condotel segment.

Corruption increases the cost of doing business, distorts the competitive environment, limits opportunities for investment and widens the growing social inequality, according to a UNDP expert.

Vietnam’s logistics industry can reap the rewards of the country’s growing economy.

A mechanism indicating fair, transparent and objective rules for ASEAN economies and their enterprises is needed to resolve trade issues when products are exported between markets.

Vietnamese enterprises are not doing enough to learn about the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which make them fail to grasp opportunities arising from the trade deal.

The group was found to have complied with the country’s existing laws and regulation on product origin.

Vietnamese textile and apparel firms are facing tough times expanding their businesses, especially in terms of human resource development, experts said on Friday.

The seafood industry must envision a long-term strategy to make full use of new trade pacts and prepare for problems that might arise when they take effect, Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP general secretary, said.

Improving corporate governance capacity is a major challenge for businesses, especially small-and-medium sized enterprises when joining the EVFTA, requiring the Government to have policies and mechanisms to facilitate their operation.

E-payment channels are flourushing but few people are choosing the payment channels.

Dau Anh Tuan, director general of the Legal Department of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, talks to Customs newspaper about Vietnamese enterprises’ need for more Government support.