"This survey attracted the participation of 262 companies from 11 primary sectors and industries in Viet Nam," said a representative from WVB FISL. "More than 70 per cent of the companies are small- and medium-sized enterprises."

With respect to current economic conditions, about 70 per cent of the participants thought overall economic conditions had improved compared to one year ago. About 25 per cent of the participants agreed that there was no change with the current economic conditions, and 4.2 per cent said that current economy conditions had not improved.

About 84.35 per cent of the participants said they believed the economy would continue to improve and 15.65 per cent said they believed there would be no change.

Optimistically, about 72 per cent of the individuals questioned said they believed their enterprises’ profits would likely increase during the next 12 months.

As many as 60 per cent of the participants said they expected their employment and investments in fixed assets to increase.

During the last quarter, the number of businesses that were concerned about their revenues and profits was up 0.06 per cent and 1.96 per cent, respectively.

The survey also showed that many domestic businesses were still concerned about inflation and fluctuations in the exchange rate between the US dollar and Vietnamese dong.

Most participants surveyed said they believed foreign investors would focus on four major areas including real estate, consumer product manufacturing, information technology, and mining.

Nearly 20 per cent of them believed that foreign investors would pour money into the information and technology sectors, while 31.27 per cent said the real estate sector would receive more investments.

The survey also found that many businesses believe that the tourism, footwear, garment and pharmaceutical sectors will continue to gain momentum and receive increased investments in the future.

The quarterly survey was conducted by the Viet Nam World Vest Base Financial Intelligence Services (WVB FISL) and PetroVietnam Finance Investment and Consultancy Company (PVFC Invest).

Source: VietNamNet/Viet Nam News