Nine in 10 Vietnam businesses eye overseas expansion: UOB study

Almost nine in 10 businesses in Vietnam are looking to expand broad in the next three years, which will mean a higher interest in cross-border digital trade platforms, says a new study by Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB).

More than six in the 10 say they are ‘very interested’ in using such platforms, the UOB Business Outlook Study 2023 (SME & Large Enterprises) shows.

The report also indicates that 72% of businesses surveyed in Vietnam have their eyes on Southeast Asia for their future expansion plans; Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are their preferred Southeast Asian destinations.

Up to 89% of businesses surveyed in Vietnam say the Vietnamese business environment was positive in 2022. This percentage is the highest result in ASEAN region. The survey also finds that 87% of businesses in Vietnam have positive outlook for 2023.

Another finding is 90% of businesses in Vietnam have adopted digitalization in at least one department; 86% foresee bigger spending on digitalization this year.

The reason is digitalization can create better impact for enterprises by improving productivity to mitigate the impact of inflation on their business, helping them become more customer-centric by enabling their customer outreach efforts and improving customer experience.

“A key challenge for digitalization will be encouraging businesses which just started their journey to continue with digitalization, expanding it from one or a few departments into the entire business. We understand the challenges faced by Vietnamese businesses in embracing digital technologies and staying competitive in the digital era,” Pham Nhu Anh, head of wholesale banking, UOB Vietnam, said Monday.

The UOB outlook study surveyed more than 4,000 businesses in Asia between December 2022 and January 2023. For the first time, the study was expanded beyond Singapore to also survey companies in the bank’s other key markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, mainland China, and Hong Kong. In Vietnam, the study surveyed 505 businesses across the country, mostly in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Majority of businesses in Vietnam have seen an impact to their supply chains, according to the study. More than a half say their supply chains have been impacted by geo-political issues.

UOB says this study aims at better understanding the business outlook and key expectations among SMEs and large enterprises across its seven markets in ASEAN and China, namely Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, mainland China, and Hong Kong.