In the 2000-2009 period, the number of registered business increased by 22% per year on average. During this period, a significant increase was observed in 2000-2001 (an increase of 37%), 2003-2004 (34%) and 2008-2009 (29%). In 2008 and 2009, and in spite of difficulties caused by the global economic crisis, the number of newly registered enterprises continued to rise. The number of newly registered enterprises in 2008 increased by 12.2% in comparison with 2007, and the number of newly registered enterprises in 2009 increased 29.4% in comparison with that of 2008.
According to the 2006-2008 enterprise survey conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO), by end-2007, there was a total of 155,771 active enterprises nationwide, most of which were not state-owned enterprises. More specifically, there were 3,494 state enterprises (accounting for 2̀%), 147,316 non-state enterprises (94%), and 4,961 FDI enterprises (3%).
The GSO’s data on the number of active enterprises, compared with the number of registered enterprises, is considered reasonable. Accordingly, the number of registered enterprises, as of end-2007, was 312,000 enterprises. Thus, about 50% of registered enterprises were deemed to be active in 2007.
According to the General Tax Department, by end-2008, there are more than 303,000 enterprises paying taxes. In the meantime, the number of registered enterprises at that time was more than 378,000. Thus, the percentage of active enterprises, compared to registered enterprises, after 18 years was 80.2%. The same percentage in OECD countries was 60% – 70% after two years, and 40% – 50% after seven years of operation. Clearly, the use of enterprise data from different sources needs to be done carefully, and with some supporting explanation.
Number enterprises registered in the 2000 -2009 period
| Year | Number of registered enterprises | Growth rate (%) | Accumulated number |
| 2000 | 14.453 | – | 14.453 |
| 2001 | 19.642 | 35,90 | 34.095 |
| 2002 | 21.668 | 10,31 | 55.763 |
| 2003 | 27.774 | 28,18 | 83.537 |
| 2004 | 37.306 | 34,32 | 120.843 |
| 2005 | 39.958 | 7,11 | 160.801 |
| 2006 | 46.744 | 16,98 | 207.545 |
| 2007 | 58.196 | 24,50 | 265.741 |
| 2008 | 65.319 | 12,24 | 331.060 |
| 2009 | 84.531 | 29,41 | 415.591 |
Source: Agency for Enterprise Development.