March 30, 2020 | 19:20 (GMT+7)
Up to 18,600 firms suspend operations in Q1 due to COVID-19
Up to 18,600 businesses were forced to suspend operations in the first quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, up 26 percent year on year, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In the first three months of this year, 29,700 enterprises were established nationwide, up 4.4 percent year-on-year, while 14,800 companies resumed their operations, down 1.6 percent.
However, as manufacturing and processing firms expect the epidemic will end soon, a recent survey predicted that the business performance in the second quarter will improve.
The total registered capital of newly-established firms in the first quarter exceeded VND 351 trillion (USD 15.2 billion) while the total number of workers was over 243,000, down 6.4 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
The average capital of a new firm during the period reached VND 11.8 billion, down 10.4 percent year-on-year. The additional capital pumped into the economy by both newly-established businesses and existing companies dropped by 17.7 percent to more than VND 903 trillion (USD 38.5 billion).
Source: VNA