Confidence slips back but businesses think of efficient growth initiatives

Companies reporting revenue growth decreased, falling to 31 per cent compared to 65 per cent six months ago. Companies reporting profit growth also decreased to 39 per cent from 59 per cent. Mindful of the need to contain costs in the quest for sustainable growth businesses identify increasing flexible workspace, increasing cloud IT applications and sales through third parties as the most effective cost cutting measures for the coming months.

Looking back, Vietnamese firms identify difficult access to cost effective capital (57 per cent) as the main reason for corporate distress during the downturn, followed by inflexible margins paid to resellers, distributors or introducers (52 per cent).

Respondents identified reducing fixed office space (52 per cent), increasing cloud IT applications (43 per cent) and sales through third parties (38 per cent) as the areas where companies could best make savings without damaging growth prospects.

Vietnamese firms report that more flexible workspace (43 per cent), a wider distribution of customers (43 per cent) and access to cost effective capital (43 per cent) would make the greatest contribution to enhancing future business stability as a platform for growth.

Globally, the Business Confidence Index rating is lower for small businesses (107) than for large firms (124).

Wiliam Willems, regional vice pesident of te Regus Group for Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia said: “Althoughh untouched by the significant setback reported by the index in other global economies between March and September 2011, Vietnamese business confidence has now suffered a dip.

In addition to this, the proportion of companies reporting revenue and profit growth has decreased compared to six months ago so it is not surprising that in order to grasp growth opportunities in a sustainable way, businesses are still looking to cut overheads without damaging their growth prospects.”

In every edition, the Regus Business Tracker report presents an updated Business Confidence Index. This index is a measurement formed on an aggregate of positive and forward-looking statements combining year-to-date revenue and profit trends with views on the expected economic upturn in the coming months and aims to provide businesses with a single point of reference of the survey’s key findings. Its benchmark average was set at 100 in the first edition of the Regus Business tracker in September 2009.

Regus is the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, with products and servicesranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the world’s largest network of video communication studios.

Regus enables people to work their way, whether it’s from home, on the road or from an office. Customers such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nokia join hundreds of thousands of growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their office and workplace needs to Regus, allowing them to focus on their core activities.