Viet Nam should strengthen land and copyright laws to give enterprises more flexibility and to enhance asset security, experts said at an awards ceremony in Ha Noi on Thursday for the country’s 500 most profitable firms.

According to the announcement of the Viet Nam Earnings Insight 2017 report at the ceremony, Viet Nam’s business environment has been favourable. Access to capital, the tax system and inflation control improved in the first three quarters of the year. The research conducted by Viet Nam Report Company on the Profit 500 Ranking List showed that more than 90 per cent of firms rated the business environment as good or very good.

The issues that businesses still face are land access, skilled labour supply and infrastructure. “The great challenges for Vietnamese businesses are asset security, property rights and anti-trust,” the report said.

Besides, under the circumstance that the increasing number of new entrants and foreign competitors has entered the domestic market, the market share of large firms could decline unless they reach new customers on the world market.

The Viet Nam Earnings Insight 2017 report also collected opinions from experts saying that the country’s securities market experienced better performance than ever, with a growth rate of 26.4 per cent in the first 10 months of the year. It helped the overall portfolio value of investors expand at the most significant rate in the past six years. Therefore, the performance in the Vietnamese market is more attractive than that of the Philippines at a similar level of capitalisation and turnover, and significantly more attractive than Thailand as Thailand’s economic growth has been gloomy recently, the report said.

The country’s stable macro-economy, better monetary policies and favourable investment environment, together with the growth of the middle-class, would enhance return on investment (ROI) and return on equity (ROE), which would be pre-conditions for further growth.

The Profit 500 ranking aims to honour Vietnamese firms with high profitability and potential to become key pillars for the country’s future development. These firms have also contributed to promoting Viet Nam’s brand name in the international business community.

The Viet Nam Report Company conducted independent assessments based on the criteria of return on total assets, return on equity, return on revenue, pre-tax profit and revenue. In addition, it also determined businesses’ reputation in the media. — VNS

List of 10 most profitable firms: 1. Viettel Group 2. Samsung Electronics Viet Nam Co Ltd 3. Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) 4. Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Com pany (Vinamilk) 5. PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation 6. Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) 7. Truong Hai Auto Corporation 8. Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank) 9. Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) 10. Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Company