Number of new firms hit record high in five years

According to the General Statistics Office, the new firms registered VND 669.7 trillion (USD 28.5 billion) worth of capital, an annual increase of 29.6%. Newly registered capital and funds added to existing projects hit VND 1.7 quadrillion (USD 73.1 billion).

Meanwhile, there were 19,600 firms resuming businesses, up 48.1% from the same period last year.

The number of temporarily closed companies reached 19,100, while 19,300 others halted their operation.

Vietnam is forecast to grow by 6.8-6.9% in 2019 on the back of sound economic performance in 2018, according to the Vietnam Macro-Economic Outlook 2019.

In 2018, the economy expanded by 7.08%, one of the highest growth rates in the region and the world, supported by 12.98% growth in the manufacturing and processing sector and a 3.76% expansion in agriculture since 2012.