HANOI, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam posted a 3 percent fall in the number of newly registered companies to around 19,700 in the first two months of this year from a year earlier, according to the General Statistics Office.
The registered capital of the new companies contracted sharply by 41 percent to 164.7 trillion Vietnamese dong (about 7 billion U.S. dollars) year on year, the data showed.
With nearly 15,000 businesses started in the period, service was the only sector to experience some expansions with a modest 0.3 percent growth in the year. Meanwhile, the industry and construction sector fell 10.2 percent, and the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector slumped 37.3 percent compared to those in the same period last year.
About 18,200 companies that had previously ceased operations resumed their activities in January and February, down 18.6 percent in the year. However, in the same period, a total of 51,400 companies were reported to withdraw from the market, up 14.5 percent year on year, the statistics data showed.
Economist said weak global demand has been seen as the biggest challenge for businesses, both local and foreign-invested, to overcome in 2023.
Data from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour showed that over half a million workers in Vietnam have been scheduled for fewer hours than they prefer to be working over the past five months due to lower export orders. About 10 percent of them have been laid off.
The number of newly registered firms in 2022 jumped 27.1 percent to around 148,500 from 2021. ■