A garment-textile business (Photo: VNA)

The scale of Vietnamese businesses has decreased with the average registered capital of a newly-established firm till July this year being 6.2 billion VND (284,400 USD), reducing 0.2 percent over the same period last year.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department of Business Registration showed that last month, the country had 6,598 newly-established companies with total registered capital of 38.8 trillion VND (1.77 billion USD), showing decreases of 29 percent and 38 percent in terms of the number and capital, respectively, over the previous month.

The number of enterprises to be completely dissolved last month was 748, or 9.2 percent, in comparison with June. Another 3,172 firms suspended operations, a 36 percent month-on-month decrease. Nearly 1,500 businesses returned to normal operations in July, an increase of 33 percent against the previous month.

In the first seven months, the country had 52,000 newly-established firms with total registered capital of 321.3 trillion VND (15 billion USD), representing 23 percent and 22 percent in terms of number of businesses and capital, respectively. More than 32,373 firms suspended operations during this period.

The new businesses in the entertainment sector were the highest with a surge of 126 percent, followed by real estate at 68 percent, and warehousing at 51 percent, in addition to construction at 29 percent, and consultancy and advertisement at 25 percent.

The department said that the number of new companies has shown a rising trend over the corresponding period last year. This is a positive sign for the economy.

Pham Ngoc Long, from Vietnam Association of Small-and-Medium-sized Enterprises said that SMEs have been one of the four main sectors that have added momentum to the economy, accounting for 97 percent of the total operating businesses and total registered capital of 121 billion USD.

However, even though the SMEs are large in number they are not strong enough, Long said.

Sharing the ideas, Tran Hoang Ngan, a member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, said the government should lend support in terms of resources, trade promotions, investment and forecast to help businesses quickly meet market demands both inside and outside the country.

Solutions should be given to SMEs to improve their competitive ability, especially in the context of integration, Ngan said.

He suggested that the Government soon issue a financial support package for companies to access mid- and long-term lo🥂ans with preferential interest rates from five to 10 years. Theꦬ loans could help them equip themselves with new and modern technologies to improve competitiveness.-VNA