Hanoi (VNA) – Business and production havebeen severely stricken by prolonged lockdowns and social distancing orders triggeredby the worst-ever COVID-19 resurgence in the third quarter of 2021, accordingto the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Data from the GSO shows that the number ofnewly-established firms and their registered capital in September hit the lowest for the same month since 2016. There were 3,899 companies founded last month, representing a significantfall of 62.2 percent compared to a year earlier. These companies registered some 62.4trillion VND (over 2.73 billion USD) in charter capital, a 69.3-percent plungeyear on year.

The number of new enterprises were low in Ho Chi MinhCity, which only added 594 firms and 14.5 trillion VND worth of registercapital last month, down 80.9 percent and 88 percent, respectively, year onyear. A similar trend was observed in the southern provinces of Binh Duong andDong Nai with only 63 and 39 enterprises newly established during the month,down 89.8 percent and 88.1 percent, respectively.

The aggregate number of newly-founded enterprises in the first nine months of the year dropped 13.6percent to 85,500 and theirregistered capital exceeded 1.19 quadrillion VND, a year-on-year decrease of16.3 percent.

During the nine-month period, the number of companiestemporarily suspending operation rose by 16.7 percent while that of thosecompletely dissolving was up 5.9 percent.

According to GSO Director General Nguyen Thi Huong, domestic enterprises have become more proactive in responding to the COVID-19 after going through four coronavirus waves since early 2020, but their financial capacity andresilience are weakening given the fact that 98 percent of Vietnamese companiesare micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

The figures may suggest that Vietnamese firms are notoptimistic in short term and the pandemic has been putting tremendous impacts onthem, Huong said./.