Q1 2026: more than 57,400 new businesses enter the market

In March 2026, Vietnam registered nearly 22,000 newly established enterprises, with registered capital totaling 224.9 trillion dong and about 98.4 thousand employees, according to the Q1 2026 economic overview report by the General Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance). This represented increases of 94.1% in the number of enterprises, 69.4% in registered capital, and 65.7% in employment compared with February 2026.

March 2026: new enterprise formation accelerates

Compared with the same period last year, the number of newly established enterprises rose by 40.5%, registered capital increased by 78.1%, and employment rose by 12.4%.

The average registered capital per newly established enterprise in March 2026 was 10.2 billion dong, down 12.8% from the previous month but up 26.7% year-on-year.

In addition, more than 7.9 thousand enterprises resumed operations in March, up 28.3% from the previous month and down 13.3% year-on-year.

Q1 2026: more than 57,400 new enterprises

For the first quarter of 2026, Vietnam registered more than 57.4 thousand new enterprises with total registered capital near 538.6 trillion dong and total registered employment exceeding 265.9 thousand. This equated to year-on-year growth of 57.8% in the number of enterprises, 51% in registered capital, and 16.5% in employment.

Average registered capital per newly established enterprise in Q1 2026 stood at 9.4 billion dong, down 4.3% year-on-year.

Total additional registered capital injected into the economy in Q1 2026 was more than 1.3 quadrillion dong, down 5.1% year-on-year.

Resumed operations lift total enterprise activity

In Q1 2026, over 38.6 thousand enterprises resumed operations, up 5.7% year-on-year versus 2025. Combined with newly established enterprises, the total number of newly established and resumed enterprises in Q1 2026 reached 96 thousand, up 31.7% year-on-year.

On average, about 32 thousand enterprises per month were newly established or resumed.

Sector performance in Q1 2026

The report shows the following sectoral breakdown for newly registered enterprises in Q1 2026:

• 623 new enterprises in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector, up 89.4% year-on-year.
• About 13.8 thousand in the industrial and construction sector, up 60.1%.
• More than 43.0 thousand in the service sector, up 56.6%.

Business exits and suspensions continue

Despite the uptrend in new enterprises, March 2026 saw 5,059 enterprises registered for temporary suspension of business, up 18.8% from February and up 15.2% year-on-year.

There were also 6,304 enterprises suspended operations awaiting dissolution procedures, up 80.5% from February and up 28.7% year-on-year, while 3,818 enterprises completed dissolution procedures, up 16% from February and up 78.7% year-on-year.

For Q1 2026 as a whole, temporarily suspended enterprises totaled nearly 63.5 thousand, up 3.3% year-on-year; over 16.6 thousand enterprises paused activities awaiting dissolution; and over 11.7 thousand enterprises completed dissolution.

As a result, 91.8 thousand enterprises withdrew from the market in Q1 2026, up 16.5% year-on-year. On average, about 30.6 thousand enterprises per month exited the market.

FDI and growth context

Foreign direct investment (FDI) capital into Vietnam in Q1 2026 exceeded USD 15 billion.

GDP growth in Q1 2026 reached 7.83% amid the Middle East conflict. While the report notes initial spillovers from the tensions, it states that GDP still grew solidly at 7.83%, though the economy is expected to face growth pressures in Q2 2026.

Implications for capital mobilization

The report highlights the need to mobilize capital channels for the economy, noting that Q1 2026 FDI inflows surpassed USD 15 billion, indicating a recovery after modest early-year months.