Hanoi (VNA) – Nearly 111,700 new businesses were established nationwide in the first half of 2026, up 22.5% year-on-year, reflecting resilient business activity despite ongoing market volatility, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
Notably, newly established businesses registered capital of 1,352.6 trillion VND (51.8 billion USD), up 64.8% from a year earlier.
Average registered capital per enterprise rose 34.5% to 12.1 billion VND, while the June figure reached a record 17 billion VND, up 134.8% year-on-year, indicating stronger financial capacity among new market entrants.
Including additional registered capital, total capital flowing into the market reached nearly 3.1 quadrillion VND, marking an 11.3% year-on-year increase.
More than 58,100 enterprises resumed operations in the past six months, bringing the total number of newly established and re-entering businesses to over 169,800.
The service sector accounted for the largest share of new businesses with more than 83,100 enterprises, up 18.1% year-on-year. Industry and construction followed with over 27,400 new firms, up 37.2%, while agriculture, forestry and fisheries posted the fastest growth rate at 41.6%, with 1,151 businesses.
The factory of the Thien Son Garment Co., Ltd. in Tong Tran commune, Hung Yen province (Photo: VNA)
In the first half, nearly 85,900 enterprises temporarily suspended operations, while more than 41,200 ceased operations pending dissolution procedures. Almost 24,000 firms completed dissolution, up 94.7% year-on-year, meaning an average of 25,200 businesses exited the market each month.
Despite the elevated rate of market exits, NSO Director Nguyen Thi Huong said business confidence, particularly among manufacturers, had improved in the second quarter, suggesting production sentiment was strengthening ahead of the second half of the year.
To sustain business growth, the MoF is prioritising reforms to improve the investment and business climate, including cutting administrative procedures and compliance costs, easing access to land, natural resources, and minerals, expanding interest rate subsidies, and supporting human resource training.
The ministry is also developing policies to help household businesses transition into formal enterprises and enable small and medium-sized enterprises to scale up, while increasing support in taxation, accounting and corporate governance.
Huong proposed ministries, sectors and localities improve the business environment, accelerate administrative reforms, reduce compliance costs and strengthen linkages between foreign-invested and domestic enterprises to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the economy./.
