The report also showed that as many as 86,400 enterprises resumed operations, up 41.3% year-on-year, bringing the total number of newly established enterprises and those returning to business in the first three quarters of 2025 to over 231,300, an increase of 26.4% compared to the same period last year.
However, around 99,500 enterprises temporarily suspended operations, up 14.5% year-on-year, while 53,200 enterprises ceased operations pending dissolution procedures, a decrease of 13.5%.
In addition, 22,300 enterprises completed dissolution procedures, representing an increase of 45%. This indicates that many businesses still face considerable challenges.
The main reason is intensified competitive pressure from e-commerce and online platforms, which has created significant difficulties for traditional business models.
Moreover, the average registered capital remains low, at around 9 billion VND (342,000 USD), showing little change and reflecting the limited internal capacity of enterprises.
The 2024 Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) report revealed an alarming trend, as informal costs have begun to re-emerge and the dynamism of local authorities has declined.
Although enterprises are showing signs of recovery, their production and business scales have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and continue to face numerous challenges.
Furthermore, many enterprises reported that business registration and investment licensing procedures remain complicated, particularly in areas such as land, environment, and taxation.
Although administrative procedures have been digitised in several stages, delays still occur in implementation, with dossiers often required to be submitted multiple times or transferred slowly between agencies.
Additionally, the overlapping regulations have led to the emergence of “sub-licences”, resulting in time-consuming processes, higher compliance costs, and reduced business competitiveness.
Therefore, to remove difficulties and unlock growth momentum for enterprises, ministries and local authorities should focus on accelerating reforms, streamlining administrative procedures and eliminating overlaps among legal documents.
At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen decentralisation and delegation of authority to prevent the resurgence of sub-licences and cumbersome regulations, thereby reducing compliance costs and enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises.
