The Covid-19 epidemic wave broke out at the end of April 2021 with a fast and complicated spread and took place in many localities throughout the country. The epidemic has caused challenges to businesses and the economy. Solutions for restricting and social distancing have been implemented in many provinces and cities, affecting all aspects of people’s lives, especially workers in industrial zones. Besides, the fear and caution mentality from investors when the epidemic broke out had a significant impact on the business registration of enterprises. According to a report from the Business Registration Department – Ministry of Planning and Investment, in May 2021, 4,892 businesses returned to operation, down 3.2% compared to that number of the same period in 2020, mainly in the fields, such as education and training decreased by 27.7%; health and social assistance activities reduced by 25%; mining decreased by 17.3%; arts, entertainment and entertainment decreased by 16.7%. There were 3,400 enterprises registered to temporarily stop their business, up 1.7%; 4,234 enterprises waiting for dissolution procedures, up 37.3%; 1,279 enterprises were dissolved or ceased to exist, an increase of 33%.

However, before the new development of the epidemic, many businesses have to adapt and flexibly reorganize their operating methods to well implement epidemic prevention, keep workers safe, and ensure production plans. In May 2021, it is also recorded 13/17 fields with an increase in the number of newly registered enterprises compared to the same period in 2020, in which: real estate business increased by 60.4%; education and training increased by 53.5%; information and communication increased by 41.4%. Some fields affected by the Covid-19 epidemic also recorded an increase in the number of newly registered businesses, such as employment services, tourism, rental of machinery and equipment, utensils and other support services increased by 11.6%; accommodation and food services increased by 8.4%; arts, entertainment and entertainment increased by 13.2%. This is a great effort of the business community in the context of the fourth outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The Vietnamese Government, with its high determination to repel the epidemic, determines that epidemic prevention is a fundamental factor at the same time with developing socio-economic, ensuring national security and social security to create maintained optimism about the continuous of business environment, affirming that Vietnam is capable of ensuring normal business operations. On April 30, 2021, the European Business Association in Vietnam (Euro Cham) announced that the Euro Cham Business Climate Index (BCI) for the first quarter of 2021 reached 73.9 percentage points. This is the highest level recorded since the third quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the global trading and investment system. On the other hand, on May 21, 2021, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings announced that Vietnam’s national credit rating would remain unchanged, raising the outlook from stable to positive. Thus, since the outbreak of the pandemic until now, Vietnam is the only country in the world that has been upgraded to positive by all three credit rating agencies including Moody’s, S&P and Fitch. This is one of the positive factors that strengthen confidence in the business investment environment in Vietnam in May 2021.