The Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) in Hanoi on November 21 released its latest report on Vietnam’s business environment in 2011.

According to CIEM, the report was based on a survey of 2,500 small- and medium-sized enterprises operating in the processing industry. Its focus was to analyse Vietnam’s business environment, in particular labour growth, investment, financial access and business capacity.

The report found in recent years, small- and medium-sized enterprises have seen a decline in investment and financial access. 444 of the 2,000 firms said that they have not made new investments in the past four years.

Credit is considered the biggest obstacle in the development of enterprises. 39 percent of respondents said that they are facing credit problems.

Dr. Pham Thi Thu Hang from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that it is important to improve the quality of products to absorb more of the domestic market from goods that are illegally imported. The domestic market remains small- and medium-sized enterprises’ primary market.

According to many experts, Vietnam is facing development challenges in small- and medium-sized enterprises. Many post-crisis policies are made and implemented by the Government to maintain the competitiveness of enterprises, small- and medium-sized firms in particular.