European businesses have maintained an optimistic viewpoint regarding conducting business activities in Vietnam as the Business Climate Index (BCI) continues to recover with the COVID-19 epidemic being brought under control in the country, coupled with the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The debut of the EU-Vietnam Business Council (Photo: VNA)

This positive attitude was unveiled as part of a BCI survey conducted in the third quarter (Q3) by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Eurocham). The results saw the BCI reach 57.5%, an increase of 24 points from the previous quarter and representing the highest BCI score since the initial global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

European business leaders remain more optimistic with regard to their business performance, with many now even anticipating that Q4’s performance will see great improvements.

Surveyed business leaders were more positive about their business performance in the third quarter of the year, with 40% describing their performance as “Excellent” or “Good”, over twice as high as the 18% recorded during Q2.

Most notably, Q4 is anticipated to be more positive, with 44% of surveyed respondents predicting that the business efforts conducted at the end of the year will achieve good results. Indeed, most companies are stabilising in terms of employee numbers and investment plans, while they expect that the number of orders and sales will increase in the future.

With the EVFTA coming into effect in the third quarter of the year, the BCI also raises a question about the impact of the trade deal on the business and investment plans of member companies.

One-third of those surveyed believe that the trade pact has played an important part in their decision to invest in the country due to tariff reductions and enjoying easier market access for investors.