SMEs in Vietnam plan recovery from COVID-19

Despite the uncertainty presented by the pandemic, SMEs in Vietnam will continue with their investment plans.
By: | August 24, 2020
Topics: Digital Transformation | Job Cuts | Leadership | News | Restructuring | Vietnam

It would appear that SMEs in Vietnam have already started to plan their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than half (52%) revealing investment plans this year.

This, according to a new survey by United Overseas Bank (UOB), ranks as the highest ratio in South-East Asia, where only 36% of SMEs have indicated a willingness to continue investing in the wake of the pandemic.

In Vietnam, 46% are postponing growth plans while 2% have no plans to do so. Of the SMEs who are looking to invest, 63% are looking to do so in technology, 49% in developing employees’ skills and 37% in machinery and plants. 

This is despite the fact, that almost all (90%) of Vietnamese SMEs expect to record a fall in revenues in 2020.

However, more than half of the survey respondents in Vietnam (52%) indicated that they were optimistic about their post-pandemic economic recovery, 22% are pessimistic while 26% say they are uncertain.

READ: COVID-19 halts business operations in Vietnam

Last month, Vietnam’s General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that 29,200 businesses registered to temporarily suspend operations in the first six months of 2020, while another 19,600 businesses are waiting to complete dissolution procedures.

During the same period, 565,000 people claimed unemployment benefits as 7.8 million workers lost their jobs or had their working hours reduced. On the upside, 13,700 companies were established in June, bringing the total number of new businesses to 62,000, although this represented a 7.3% year-on-year decrease.