Preliminary data of general economic census announced

The General Statistics Office (GSO) held a press briefing in Hanoi on January 19 to announce the preliminary data of the general economic census in 2017.

At the press conference (Photo: VNA)
At the press conference (Photo: VNA)

As of January 1, 2017, there were 518,000 enterprises across the country, increasing by 176,000 enterprises and 1.5 times higher than in 2012. Of which, the number of non-State-owned enterprises was 500,000; and FDI enterprises was 14,600, an increase of 54.2% compared to five years ago. The number of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) was only 2,701, down by 18.3% or 607 compared to that of 2012, due to the implementation of the policy of equitisation.

In 2016, the enterprise sector recorded approximately VND17.45 quadrillion (US$767.8 billion) in net revenue. Of which, domestic private enterprises reached the highest revenue of roughly VND9.76 quadrillion (US$429.4 billion), followed by FDI enterprises with VND4.81 quadrillion, and SOEs with only VND2.88 quadrillion.

Non-State-owned enterprises also accounted for the highest proportion of contribution to the State budget with 46%, followed by SOEs with 29% and FDI with 25%.

The service sector has the largest number of enterprises with 362,000, accounting for 70% of total enterprises, up 57% compared to 2012, of which 354,000 enterprises are currently operating, up 61% over five years ago.

Several sectors saw a sharp increase in the number of enterprises such as education and training, up 155%; arts and entertainment, up 106%; science and technology, up 87%, healthcare, up 84%; warehousing, up 63.9%; and real estate, up 63%.

In addition, as of January 1, 2017, enterprises in the service sector attracted the most capital for production and business with VND18.5 quadrillion, 1.9 times higher than in 2012. Along with the industry and construction sectors, the service sector also recorded the largest revenue, reaching VND8.75 quadrillion, 1.5 times higher than in 2012. Service enterprises also contributed 51.7% of the total remittances to the state budget.

Also at the press conference, the GSO introduced a plan to announce the official results of the General Economic Census, which is scheduled to be carried out from May to December, 2018.

The General Economic Census is carried out in two phases. The first phase, implemented from March 1 to May 30, 2017, surveyed the production and business establishments in the business sector, administrative offices, as well as the branches and representative offices of foreign enterprises, and foreign non-governmental organisations.

The second phase has taken place since July, 2017, during which information was collected on religious and belief establishments, and individual non-agricultural, fishery and forestry business and production establishments.

The census’s objectives are to help assess the country’s socio-economic development, and to help the Party and State to build development policies.