Brian Jeffrey
In 2024, Vietnam saw the registration of more than 157,200 new businesses, with the bulk of these emerging from the country’s two largest cities.
The General Statistics Office reported that the newly registered enterprises accumulated over 1.54 quadrillion VND (about 64.9 billion USD) in capital and employed over 1 million individuals.
This marked a decline from the previous year, with the number of businesses down by 1.4%, registered capital reduced by 1.8%, and a 5.4% dip in the workforce.
Despite the decline in new registrations, businesses contributed over 2 quadrillion VND in additional capital, reflecting a modest increase of 3.6% from the prior year.
Furthermore, nearly 76,200 firms resumed activities in 2024, indicating a robust 30.4% growth from 2023. Altogether, the count of both newly established and returning enterprises surpassed 233,400, a 7.1% improvement year-over-year. This resulted in an approximate monthly average of 19,500 businesses either starting up or resuming operations.
Regional and provincial highlights
The majority of new business registrations concentrated in the Southeast region, accounting for 65,900 (41.9%) new enterprises, followed by the Red River Delta, which saw 48,000 enterprises (30.5%).
Three out of six economic regions recorded higher business registrations compared to the previous year. The Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region had over 8,200 new enterprises, reflecting a 3.8% increase; the Central Highlands had nearly 4,100 new businesses, a 1.6% rise; while the Mekong Delta reported over 12,700 new registrations, a significant 11.4% increase.
Ho Chi Minh City topped the list with 48,664 new business registrations, while Hanoi followed with 28,931. Other notable provinces included Binh Duong with 8,671, Dong Nai at 4,608, Bac Ninh with 3,820, and Thanh Hoa registering 3,684 businesses.
Resumed operations and sectoral growth
There was a notable rise in companies restarting operations across different sectors in 2024. The agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector had 998 companies resume, reflecting a 24% increase. The mining industry also registered 506 businesses back in operation, a rise of 15.3%.
In manufacturing and processing, over 8,800 companies resumed activities, translating to a 29% increase. The finance, banking, and insurance sectors saw 604 businesses return, marking a 12.5% rise. Particularly impressive was the real estate sector, with over 3,200 businesses resuming, showcasing a remarkable 42.2% increase.
Nguyen Le
