Businesses eye local opportunities
New findings from a survey conducted by global office provider Regus indicates the number of Vietnamnese companies seeking business opportunities in the domestic market is 260% higher than those looking overseas.
The one-month poll, which surveyed more than 200 Vietnamese businesses, is part of global study which collected the opinions of more than 20,000 senior executives and business owners across 95 countries.
The research proves that 42% of the companies are seeking domestic growth, while only 17% look forward to growing internationally.
According to the research, the five most important barriers to international growth by Vietnamese firms are the need to hire top-quality staff (89%), lack of access to flexible office space (84%), lack of market information (74%), lack of local knowledge and connections (63%) and the need to set up a local distribution network (63%).
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The focus on home-grown growth is even more significant in emerging markets, where three times as many companies (51%) are seeking domestic growth compared to the number of companies seeking growth overseas.
This provides evidence that more people in developing countries have started to benefit from the results of economic recovery, as consumer confidence has begun to recover and reliance on exports has diminished.
Serge Dupaux, country manager at Regus Vietnam, the global workplace provider, stated that there has been an important reversal in the past two years, with firms now experiencing more growth from domestic markets than through overseas expansion. The trend highlights how important it is for businesses to remain flexible and scalable so that they can respond to market volatility but also highlights an important increase in consumer purchasing power in emerging economies.