European firms continued to be optimistic about the business environment in Vietnam, according to the EuroCham’s latest Business Climate Index. Accordingly, the Business Climate Index for the first quarter of this year is 78 points, up 1 point from the previous quarterly survey. However, the percentage of respondents rating the business situation as excellent dropped by nearly 10 percent, with an increase of 7 percent in respondents describing the situation as good. Negative responses were at almost the same level as in Q4 of 2017. More respondents showed their confidence of a stable and continuously improving macroeconomic scenario in Vietnam with a 9 percent increase, while those expecting no change in the next quarter increased by nearly 10 percent. The survey showed that inflation was not a major concern for EuroCham members, with 84 percent believing it will have either no or minor impact.-VNA