Data on the 2023 business landscape and not-so-optimistic predictions on the Vietnamese and global economies indicated that the road ahead would be bumpy. While the number of newly established businesses increased, that of businesses exiting the market rose faster. The registered labor force increased at these new enterprises, but the registered capital decreased. This is the picture drawn from the data published by the General Statistics Office in the final days of last year. Specifically, in 2023, the whole country saw 159,300 new businesses established with total registered capital of VND1.52 quadrillion and a total registered labor force of 1,052,600 workers. These figures represent a 7.2% increase in the number of new businesses, a 4.4% decrease in the registered capital, and a 7.3% increase in the registered labor force compared to 2022. The average registered capital per newly established business reached VND9.6 billion, a decrease of 10.8%. The total registered capital in 2023 including additional funds registered for operational businesses was nearly VND3.56 quadrillion, down by a steep 25.3% year-on-year. Of this total, the additional registered capital of over 46,000 active businesses amounted to almost VND2.04 quadrillion, a 35.8% decrease from 2022. Additionally, 58,400 businesses resumed operations, a 2.4% decrease […]