Small- and medium-size businesses upbeat about economy

Small- and medium-size Vietnamese enterprises (SMEs) are optimistic about the national economy and the opportunities to be brought about by good economic performance, a Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation HSBC survey has found.

The survey on SME’s beliefs was conducted by Acorn Marketing and Research Consultancy of 501 Vietnamese SMEs in the first quarter of 2007.

The aim of the survey was to find out the viewpoints and thinking of SMEs on the prospects of Vietnam’s national economy.

The survey was conducted at the same time as HSBC’s survey of Asia-Pacific businesses carried out by A.C. Nielson.

This is the biggest survey in Asia, involving the participation of 1,800 SMEs in nine countries and territories: Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, India, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

The 501 Vietnamese companies were asked about their viewpoints on the national economy, investment and recruitment plans, as well as about trade prospects with China, the rest of Asia and the world.

Thomas Tobin, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC in Vietnam, said that most of the polled enterprises said they were very upbeat about the national economy and the international trade volume. They said they were ready to make further investment and recruit more staffs.

In general, Vietnamese SMEs said they were optimistic about economic performance for the next six months. 76% of them said that the economic growth rate would reach more than 8%. HCM City-based enterprises prove to be more optimistic about the national economy than enterprises in other localities.

In the international survey, Indian SMEs prove to be the most optimistic, followed by Singaporean, Chinese and Indonesian.

74% of Vietnamese SMEs revealed that they had investment plans for the next six months. No enterprise said it would shut down or cut production.

Indonesian enterprises are most optimistic about business development, followed by China, Australia and Singapore. The majority of Hong Kong businesses do not have investment plans, while 27% have investment plans and 11% plan to cut production this year.

With the optimism about the national economy, some 70% of Vietnamese SMEs said that they would recruit more staffs in 2007.

Chinese SMEs were the most optimistic in employment, followed by Indonesian, Indian and Singaporean. Most Hong Kong businesses (73%) do not have personnel adjustment plans for this year. However, 13% of the polled enterprises said that they planned to raise their workforces by less than 10%, and 11% of enterprises plan to raise their workforces by over 10%. Only a few enterprises said that they would cut staffs.

Vietnamese enterprises all expect a growth in trade volume with China, the rest of Asia and the world over the next six months.

Source: VNA