Up to 18,600 businesses were forced to suspend operations in the first quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, up 26% year on year, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
In the first three months of this year, 29,700 enterprises were established nationwide, up 4.4% year-on-year, while 14,800 companies resumed their operations, down 1.6%.
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 VND351 trillion (US$15.2 billion) while the total number of workers was over 243,000, down 6.4% and 23%, respectively.
The average capital of a new firm during the period reached VND11.8 billion, down 10.4% year-on-year. The additional capital pumped into the economy by both newly-established and existing companies dropped by 17.7% to more than VND903 trillion (US$38.5 billion).
