New business figures suggest vigorous startup wave

On-year rise/drop in index for industrial production, Jan-Feb

- By Thanh Thanh

The business community is further fueling the domestic economy, with an increase in the number of new enterprises and industrial production.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance (MoF) last week reported that the first two months of 2026 witnessed a strong wave of market entry, with nearly 64,500 enterprises newly established or resuming operations, up 29.4 per cent on-year.

"This signals a clear strengthening of business confidence in the corporate community," the MoF stated.

Most notably, the number of newly established enterprises reached over 35,400, soaring by 70.7 per cent compared to the same period last year, more than double the average recorded during the 2021-2025 period.

"The surge suggests a vigorous startup wave from the beginning of the year, reflecting the positive impacts of policies designed to encourage private-sector development," the MoF said.

The registered capital of newly founded firms came in at $12.55 billion, representing an on-year jump of over 36 per cent. The total number of newly registered labourers touched more than 167,500, up over 19 per cent on-year.

By sectoral structure, services continued to dominate with the lion's share (75.6 per cent and up 69.6 per cent), followed by industry and construction (23.1 per cent and up 71.5 per cent). Notably, although accounting for a relatively small proportion of just 1.3 per cent, the agro-forest-ry-fishery sector witnessed the fastest growth rate of 145.8 per cent, indicating signs of recovery and a positive structural shift.