Report
Characteristics of the Vietnamese Business Environment: Evidence from a SME Survey in 2011

This report represents the seventh time that the small and medium enterprise (SME) survey has been conducted. The results of previous survey rounds, and in particular those of 2005, 2007, and 2009 inspired the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs (ILSSA) of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the Department of Economics (DoE) of the University of Copenhagen, and UNU-WIDER together with the Royal Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam, to plan and carry out another survey in 2011. The survey on which the present report is based builds on these previous three rounds. The fieldwork behind this report consisted of in-depth interviews during the months of June, July and August of 2011 of around 2,500 small and medium sized non-state enterprises operating in the manufacturing sector. It was carried out in ten provinces, namely the cities of Hanoi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and Ha Tay1, Phu Tho, Nghe An, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong and Long An. The present report is based on enterprises who were also interviewed in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Subsequent studies will make use of the fact that a sample of approximately 2,500 SMEs is available, including a representative panel dating back to 2005.