According to the latest data from the Business Registration Administration under Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment, the number of newly registered enterprises in Vietnam reached 159,294 in 2023, a sharp year-on-year increase of 7.2%, setting a historic record. This marks the first time the number of newly established businesses in the country has surpassed the 160,000 mark, 1.2 times higher than the average from 2017 to 2022. The full-year growth exceeded expectations by 4.6%, underscoring the strong momentum of Vietnam’s improving business environment.
Robust Quarterly Growth, Peak in Q4
The Business Registration Administration noted that since the second quarter of 2023, the number of new business registrations has shown a strong rebound, with each quarter maintaining over 40,000 new enterprises — the highest quarterly levels on record. In particular, the fourth quarter saw 42,952 newly established businesses, a year-on-year surge of 20.2%, 1.3 times higher than the quarterly average between 2017 and 2022. Additionally, the total registered capital of newly established enterprises throughout the year reached VND 4,344.83 trillion (approximately USD 180 billion). The capital flow showed a “low start and strong finish” trend across quarters, with capital in Q4 remaining high, indicating gradually recovering market confidence.
Resumption of Operations Pushes Total Enterprise Count Past 200,000
In addition to new businesses, 58,412 previously inactive enterprises resumed operations in 2023, bringing the total number of newly established and reactivated enterprises to 217,706 — a 4.5% increase year-on-year and 1.3 times the number of enterprises that exited the market in 2022. This marks the second consecutive year that the total number of new and reactivated businesses has exceeded 200,000 (208,368 in 2022), reflecting a significant increase in market vitality.
Policy Support Highlights Economic Resilience
The Business Registration Administration analyzed that the Vietnamese government implemented a wide range of policy measures to boost business confidence, including interest rate cuts and currency stabilization, acceleration of public investment disbursement, credit support for industries, reductions in taxes, fees, and land use charges, as well as efforts to address risks in the bond and real estate markets. These efforts effectively improved the business environment. However, the market still faces exit pressures: a total of 172,578 enterprises withdrew from the market in 2023, up 20.5% year-on-year. In December alone, 14,355 businesses exited, a surge of 26.1% compared to the same month the previous year, indicating that the foundation for economic recovery still needs to be solidified.
Industry experts noted that while the record-high number of business registrations reflects post-pandemic economic resilience, it also reveals structural imbalances in certain sectors. Deeper reforms and a more optimized entrepreneurial ecosystem will be necessary to cope with the challenges of global economic fluctuations.
