HÀ NỘI - Some 64,000 enterprises were created in the first seven months of this year with a total registered capital of nearly VNĐ497 trillion (US$22.36 billion), according to statistics from the General Statistics Office. 

Newly-established firms rose by 23.3 per cent in number and 54.7 per cent in capital value year-on-year. The adjusted capital in the reviewed period posted VNĐ894.9 trillion, raising the total registered and adjusted capital to 1,400 trillion.

More than 16,700 enterprises, which suspended their activities due to difficulties, have resumed operations, up 67.5 per cent from the same period last year. In July, the number of new firms exceeded 9,600 with a total registered capital of VNĐ69.2 trillion, a slight decrease from June. More than 99,200 jobs were also created by the newly-established enterprises. The number of businesses resuming operations exceeded 1,800 in July, while nearly 6,000 halted their operation and more than 900 firms completed procedures for dissolution or termination.

Director of the Central Institute for Economics Management Nguyễn Đình Cung said the average capital of a business in the period has still been small at VNĐ7.7 billion each. Of which, the average capital of private firm was VNĐ1.5 billion while that of joint stock company was VNĐ1.3 billion.

“The improvement of businesses’ competitiveness would not be easy as most of Vietnamese firms are small-and-medium sized enterprises,” Cung said, adding that small scale would make companies faced with difficulties of backward technologies, limited skilled labourers and a shortage of long-term business strategies.

He said businesses with average capital of less than VNĐ10 billion could be vulnerable in international integration.  

Sectors and localities should have strong measures to improve the business environment, aiding firms’ difficulties as well as improving their competitiveness.

In addition, authorities should apply risk management and simplifying administrative procedures to reduce paperwork and shorten time for businesses in the import-export sector, he said.

The director added that the Government should revise and build a roadmap to reduce inequality between State-owned and private firms. —VNS