Awareness of business opportunities among citizens in Vietnam is lower than in other countries with the same level of development, a new report reveals.

However, those attending the launching ceremony of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Vietnam Report 2013, held in Hanoi on April 27, were also told that entrepreneurs in the country are increasingly valued and the number of citizens seeking to become businesspeople has also increased.

The first report of its kind in Vietnam revealed that the percentage of adults who acknowledged opportunities to start a new business in 2013 was only 37 percent, much lower than the average rate of 60 percent in countries which have similar development levels to Vietnam.

Luong Minh Huan from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)'s Business Development Institute, said in term of business conditions in Vietnam, there were three indices, including infrastructure, dynamic characteristic of domestic market and culture and social standards, which reached an average ranking of three.

Nine remaining indices, such as businesses supporting services, accounting, auditing and legal consultancy, were also not developed to their potential, said the report. The Government's support programmes, financing for businesses and business education at high schools were listed at the bottom of the list.

"This shows that the country has had a lack of consultancy and business supporting services," Huan said.

Further, VCCI chairman Vu Tien Loc said the report provided an overall picture on business characteristics in Vietnam throughout various periods.

It also helped Vietnam have comparisons with other countries in the ASEAN region.

Loc also recommended that Vietnam should build trust for entrepreneurs by maintaining policies to stabilise the macroeconomy, making policies transparent and creating an equal environment for competition among economic sectors.

The report was expected to serve in creating polices and decisions for business development in the future.

The GEM report collected data from more than 200 respondents in 70 countries accounting for 75 percent of the world's population and 90 percent of global GDP.-VNA