Government Classifies Three Levels of SMEs

The Government has issued the Decree 56/2009/ND-CP dated June 30, 2009 to classify small business entities. Accordingly, as of August 20, 2009, small businesses will be grouped into micro enterprises, small enterprises and medium enterprises, based on capital or workforce (capital criteria prevails).

 

Micro enterprises are those with 10 labourers or less; small enterprises have a capital of VND20 billion downward or a workforce of 10 - 200 labourers (commercial and service companies will have a capital of VND10 billion downward or a workforce of 10 - 50 people); and medium enterprises will have a capital of VND20 - 100 billion or a workforce of 200 - 300 people (commercial and service companies will have a capital of VND10 - 50 billion downward or a workforce of 50 - 100 people

According to the decree, the State will support SMEs through eight policies on providing financial assistance; offering production sites; renewing and upgrading technologies; promoting market expansion; consulting public services; providing information and consultation; nurturing human resource; and facilitating development of business incubators. Particularly, the State encourages the establishment of credit guarantee funds for SMEs.