The report says food and beverage industry has a growth of 68.9 percent, followed by retail (66.7 percent) and telecommunications and information technology (66 percent).

Topping the list is bioplastics company An Tien Industries, followed by Quang Ninh Port Joint Stock Company and Khai Anh – Binh Thuan Food Trading Co. Ltd.

In the five-year period from 2015 to 2019, the average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the enterprises in the top 500 was 28 percent, according to the report. This period witnessed the rise of the private sector, asserting its role as the country’s economic engine with a CAGR of 30.1 percent. The number of enterprises in this sector also dominated the FAST500 listing with 74.2 percent.

The private sector generates about 42 percent of GDP, contributes about 30 percent of the national budget and employs 85 percent of the nation’s workforce, the report said.

The VNR also identified the top five contributing factors for the accelerated growth of enterprises in the 2015-2019 five-year period.

The leading factor was the growth of domestic and regional markets, followed by developing new lines of products, expanding existing markets, developing new market segments, and the availability of skilled labor at competitive costs.

The report also mentioned five challenges for the growth of enterprises: market fluctuations due to Covid-19 impacts; an increase in competition; increase in input costs; complicated administrative procedures and uncertainty in the business environment.

The VNR says the industries with the highest growth potential for the next three years are: telecommunications and information technology; clean agriculture; retail; and healthcare and pharmaceutical.

The report is based on independent research and evaluation of compounded annual growth rate of sales and other parameters like return on assets, return on equity, profits, and corporate credibility in the media.