Vietnam sees surge in new business formation and registered capital in first half

According to the NSO under the Ministry of Finance, nearly 111,700 enterprises were newly established nationwide in the first half of 2026, up 22.5 per cent on-year.

More notably, capital flowing into the economy recorded exceptional growth, with total newly registered capital exceeding VND1,352.6 trillion ($53 billion), an increase of 64.8 per cent on-year.

As a result, the average registered capital per newly established enterprise reached $474,000, up 34.5 per cent on-year. In June alone, this figure climbed to a record $667,000, surging 134.8 per cent over a year, indicating that newly established businesses entered the market with significantly stronger financial capacity.

Including additional capital injections into existing businesses, total capital channelled into the economy reached nearly $121.5 billion, up 11.3 per cent on-year.

Business activity also continued to recover, with more than 58,100 enterprises resuming operations during the six-month period. This brought the total number of newly established and reactivated businesses to over 169,800, equivalent to an average of 28,300 enterprises entering or re-entering the market each month.

By sector, the services industry accounted for the largest share of newly established businesses, with more than 83,100 enterprises, up 18.1 per cent on-year. The industry and construction sector followed with over 27,400 enterprises, a rise of 37.2 per cent, while agriculture, forestry and fisheries recorded 1,151 new enterprises, posting the fastest growth rate of 41.6 per cent.

Despite the strong inflow of new businesses, the economy continued to undergo significant market consolidation as business exits remained elevated.

During the first six months of the year, 85,900 enterprises temporarily suspended operations, up 6.3 per cent on-year. Nearly 41,200 enterprises ceased operations while awaiting dissolution procedures, an increase of 21 per cent, while almost 24,000 enterprises completed dissolution procedures, soaring 94.7 per cent from a year earlier.

On average, around 25,200 enterprises exited the market each month. The trend was evident across industries. The wholesale, retail and vehicle repair sector recorded the largest number of newly established enterprises at 45,821, up 19.4 per cent, but also posted the highest number of dissolutions at 9,069, nearly doubling from a year earlier.

The manufacturing and processing sector registered 14,904 new enterprises, up 25.3 per cent, while 2,582 enterprises were dissolved, an increase of 95 per cent. Similar patterns were observed in other sectors. The construction industry saw 10,805 new enterprises, up 51.6 per cent, alongside 1,749 dissolutions, up 101 per cent. In the real estate sector, 3,192 enterprises were newly established, while the number of dissolved businesses surged 120.3 per cent to 1,463.

Despite the wave of market exits, the NSO's business sentiment survey for the second quarter of 2026 indicated that confidence among manufacturers has strengthened ahead of the second half of the year.

In the second quarter, 79.7 per cent of surveyed enterprises reported that business conditions had either improved or remained stable, a marked improvement from 69.9 per cent in the previous quarter.

Looking ahead to the third quarter, business optimism strengthened, with 83.4 per cent of enterprises expecting conditions to improve or remain stable. Of these, 39.4 per cent anticipated better business conditions, while 44 per cent expected stability. Only 16.6 per cent expressed concerns about deteriorating conditions.

Foreign-invested enterprises were the most optimistic, with 85.2 per cent expecting business conditions in the third quarter to improve or remain stable. The corresponding figures were 82.8 per cent for private domestic enterprises and 80.5 per cent for state-owned enterprises.

The positive outlook was underpinned by expectations of stronger production and order volumes. Regarding production, 38.9 per cent of enterprises expected output to increase in the third quarter, up from 37.8 per cent reporting higher output in the second quarter, while 45.9 per cent anticipated stable production.

Expectations for new orders also improved. The proportion of enterprises forecasting an increase in total new orders in the third quarter rose to 37 per cent, compared with 33.9 per cent in the second quarter, while 47.6 per cent expected order volumes to remain stable.

Export demand also showed signs of strengthening. 31.2 per cent of enterprises expected new export orders to increase in the third quarter, up significantly from 26.2 per cent in the previous quarter, while 53.5 per cent anticipated export orders would remain stable.

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