Twenty seven percent laid off all their employees, the survey, which polled 35,000 SMBs in 27 countries and territories in February this year, including 460 in Vietnam, found.

A quarter of Vietnamese SMBs had to close as of February.

Some 55 percent are confident they will continue to operate for at least another six months.

Other surveys had corroborated the difficulties faced by Vietnamese SMBs.

Thirty five percent of businesses had to let staff go after the pandemic disrupted supply chains, according to a survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the World Bank.

Textile and garment was the sector with the highest number of companies reporting negative impacts (97 percent), followed by information and communications (96 percent) and electrical equipment (94 percent), the survey, which polled nearly 10,200 businesses, found.