European firms upbeat about Vietnam business environment
EuroCham said on July 21 the Business Climate Index (BCI) reached 77 in quarter 2 based on the survey of 883 members, including some of the largest European investors in the country. The index reflected positive sentiment of EuroCham members on the business environment in Vietnam.
EuroCham said its members assessed Vietnam’s overall business situation in the previous quarter as good.
The survey found 66.7% of the respondents described the business situation as “excellent” and “good”, while only 12.5% said it was “not good” and “very poor.”
As for the business outlook, “excellent” was selected by 9.4% of respondents and “good” was picked by 54.2%.
They also hold a positive view of Vietnam’s macroeconomic outlook in the next quarter and expect that macroeconomic stability to continue, with 56.3% ticking the “stabilization and improvement” option and 34.4% thinking that it would not change.
The survey unveiled 49% of respondents expected the number of orders or revenue would edge up in the next quarter and 15.6% hoped a significant rise in revenue.
Asked about investment and headcount development plans, 43.8% of them said they would increase investment while 43.7% planned an increase in hiring. Only 4.1% said they would cut staff and 50% would keep their payrolls unchanged. Meanwhile, 40.6% said their investment would be maintained at the same level for the next quarter.
EuroCham chairman Michael Behrens said the results for quarter 2 indicated positive expectations of members for the near future.
“EuroCham members maintain a positive view of the Vietnamese market and their business operations in the country, a result which does not differ from our last survey. This is a good sign for the current implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which is expected to strongly enhance European business and investment,” Behrens said.
However, EuroCham noted that the survey was conducted before the UK’s June 23 vote to leave the European Union (EU).
