Up to 72 percent of the respondents to the survey on which the report was based said they will continue to invest in Vietnam, while 27 percent plan to recruit more workers. Some 82 percent said they have been forced to cut revenue growth targets for fiscal year 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Respondents also identified market demand and economic policies as major challenges for Vietnam’s development over the next 12 months, adding that the pandemic has hurt their business at different levels and from different perspectives.

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A Vietnamese working delegation visits a company in Germany in 2019

Some 86 percent of the surveyed enterprises said the suspension of entry and exit and the imposition of travel limits have greatly affected their operations. About 59 percent said their supply chains have been disrupted, while 55 percent have seen orders of goods cancelled and 50 percent have postponed new investment plans.

2019 was considered a successful year for investment and trade ties between Vietnam and Germany, with the former being one of the key partners of the latter in Southeast Asia. 2020, however, will be a year of challenges for the global economy as well as the two countries.

Source: VNA