More than 43,000 businesses left the Ho Chi Minh City market during the first eight months of this year, a jump of twenty four point four percent compared with the same period last year, according to figures released by the municipal Statistics Office this week. The data highlights ongoing pressure facing the private sector in Vietnam’s largest commercial hub, even as the broader city economy continues posting solid overall growth figures.
Nguyen Khac Hoang, head of the municipal Statistics Office, presented the figures during a meeting reviewing the city’s socioeconomic performance for the first eight months of the year and outlining priorities for September. Of the more than forty three thousand businesses that exited the market during the period, nine thousand seven hundred three completed full dissolution procedures, a surge of one hundred sixty four percent compared with the previous year, while thirty three thousand three hundred ninety temporarily suspended operations, up seven point eight percent.
Despite the concerning headline figures, Hoang noted that the overall ratio of businesses leaving the market had actually improved considerably compared with earlier in the year, suggesting some stabilization even as the absolute numbers remain elevated. He said the relatively high number of businesses exiting the market reflected ongoing pressure from rising costs, weak consumer demand, tighter access to capital, and limited ability among some firms to adapt to changing market conditions.
City officials have stressed the need for a dual approach going forward, encouraging the establishment of new businesses while paying greater attention to helping existing companies survive, expand production, and improve their overall competitiveness. Pham Binh An, deputy head of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, participated in the same meeting, contributing further analysis on the underlying drivers behind the elevated exit rate.
The figures build on a pattern that has persisted for much of this year, with earlier data covering the first seven months showing similarly elevated business closures. Industry groups have pointed to a range of structural pressures facing small and medium sized enterprises in particular, with survey data showing that a majority of businesses report difficulty finding customers, while a significant share struggle to access credit without providing collateral, creating a difficult cycle where weak demand limits cash flow and constrained capital makes it harder to invest in adaptation.
Despite these challenges, city officials have maintained ambitious growth targets for the remainder of the year. Ho Chi Minh City is targeting gross regional domestic product growth of at least eleven point zero seven percent in the third quarter alone, as part of a broader push to achieve full year growth of ten percent or more, reflecting the city’s determination to hit aggressive economic targets even amid ongoing pressure on the private business sector.
Business associations in the city have described the current environment as one where companies face mounting pressure across costs, cash flow, and market conditions simultaneously, rather than facing any single isolated challenge. Larger enterprises and foreign invested businesses have generally shown more capacity to accelerate green transitions and restructure supply chains, while smaller enterprises continue struggling simply to maintain existing operations and meet evolving financial transparency standards.
As September begins, city leaders say the priority remains helping vulnerable businesses gain better access to credit and expand into new markets, while continuing to promote private sector development and innovation more broadly. The coming months will offer a clearer picture of whether targeted support measures can help stabilize the elevated business closure rate even as the city pursues its ambitious double digit growth targets for the remainder of the year.
