Vietnam has highest rate of SMEs in Southeast Asia with expansion plans

By Nguyen Quy August 23, 2020 | 05:58 pm PT

Workers manufacture masks at a factory in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Minh.

Fifty two percent of small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam have investment plans this year regardless of Covid-19, the highest ratio in Southeast Asia, a survey has found.

The regional average is only 36 percent, according to the survey by Singapore’s United Overseas Bank, Irish professional services company Accenture and American market data and analytics firm Dun&Bradstreet.

In Vietnam, 63 percent of SMEs plan to invest in technology, 37 percent in machinery and plants and 49 percent in developing employees’ skills.

Forty six percent in Vietnam postponed growth plans due to the pandemic while 2 percent have no plans, the survey of 1,000 SMEs in five countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, released late last week found.

Ninety percent of Vietnamese SMEs expect a fall in revenues this year due to the severe impact of the Covid-19 outbreak compared to 88 percent overall.

Vietnam had the highest satisfaction (68 percent) with the government’s measures to resolve the crisis, followed by Thailand (47 percent) and Indonesia (45 percent).

Fifty two percent of Vietnamese SMEs showed optimism about post Covid-19 economic recovery while 22 percent were pessimistic and the rest said they were not sure.