The number of enterprises increasing their capital or returning to operations both increased in the first half of the year, according to the figures from the Agency for Business Registration at the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Meanwhile, the rate of Vietnamese enterprises with a positive view of production capacity over the second half is at 90.8 per cent, a General Statistics Office (GSO) survey found.

The number of new businesses and added capital are positive signs for Vietnam’s business environment.

Certain sectors have seen sharp year-on-year increases in registered capital, including real estate (359.1 per cent), mining (290.1 per cent), information and communications (276.6 per cent), and science and technology, design consulting services, advertising and related fields (145.8 per cent).

The Law on Enterprises and the Law on Investment as well as recent government directions towards improving the business environment have all encouraged the country’s business community.

It is noticeable that the quantity of enterprises returning to operation has been 14,902, a year-on-year rise of 75.2 per cent.

In the first half there were 54,501 new enterprises with total registered capital of $19.5 billion, a 20 per cent increase in number and 51.5 per cent in capital compared to the first half of 2015.

Newly-registered enterprises are primarily concentrated in the Red River Delta in the north and in the southern region.

Total registered capital in the first half stood at $54.6 billion, of which $35.2 billion was additional capital from existing enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 150 per cent.

In the first half 14,902 businesses resumed operations, an increase of 75.2 per cent year-on-year.

GSO’s survey revealed that 81.4 per cent of respondents believe their production capacity will increase or remain stable in the second half.

FDI enterprises also believe production capacity will increase sharply in the second half, by 58 per cent compared to the first half and by 53.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter.

Sectors estimating higher production capacity include medicines and pharmaceutical products (70 per cent), beverages (63.8 per cent), textiles (62.4 per cent), vehicles (61.9 per cent), and electronics, computers and optical products (61.2 per cent).

The number of dissolved and suspending enterprises in the first half of the year was also fairly high, up to 36,600, among was 5,507 enterprises to complete dissolved procedures, a year-on-year increase of 17 per cent, including 18,916 enterprises of interminable suspending operation and 12,203 of terminable suspending.

The figure in the second quarter, though, fell 11.3 per cent against the first quarter.

Some sectors with largest number of suspending enterprises consist of wholesale and retail, automobile and motorbike repair at total nearly 13,500.

According to Mr. Bui Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Agency for Business Administration, it is clear that enterprises still need more support to escape from their difficulties, in particular solutions for bad debts and access to credit.