Top 500 Most Profitable Companies in Vietnam Revealed for 2023

The list of Vietnam’s top 500 most profitable companies for 2023 has been unveiled, showcasing the dominance of renowned names such as PetroVietnam, Samsung, Viettel, Vietcombank, Techcombank, BIDV, MB, Agribank, and VPBank. Notable private enterprises that stood out as high performers included Techcombank, VPBank, ACB, Vingroup, VIB, Vinamilk, HDBank, Hoa Phat, SHB, and TPBank. Despite not reaching their pre-pandemic levels, these companies have shown significant improvement since 2022.

The average return on assets (ROA) of these 500 enterprises has experienced growth across all three sectors. The foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) led the way with an impressive 13.7% ROA, marking a substantial surge of 2.7%. This growth reflects the stability of their businesses and their ability to generate profit from their assets. The private sector and state-owned enterprises followed suit, recording respective ROAs of 11.2% and 9.2%.

In 2023, there has been a noteworthy shift in the average return on equity. FIEs and the private sector have experienced robust growth rates of 4.6% and 5.5% respectively compared to the previous year, which is the highest in the last five years. State-owned enterprises, although witnessing an increase from 16.5% to 17.2%, showed a more modest recovery compared to their counterparts.

While many sectors faced stagnation, impacting business resilience and thinning profit margins, the survey revealed that fewer businesses maintained their growth momentum in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. As two-thirds of the year has passed, only 40.9% of enterprises have achieved over 50% of their profit targets, a sharp decline from 73.9% a year ago.

Vietnam Report, however, remains cautiously optimistic. As the global conversation gradually shifts from “recession” to a “soft landing,” indicators suggest a less bleak outlook for Vietnam’s economy, signaling a potential pathway to recovery. Nevertheless, the pace of this transition remains sluggish due to persistent challenges and lingering complications. The research indicates that recovery will vary across sectors and businesses, depending on their specific circumstances. Approximately 55% of businesses anticipate a mild profit improvement for the latter half of the year, while 4.5% expect no change, and 41% predict a slow recovery with potential short-term declines.

“Given the current backdrop, the profit landscape in the coming months will continue to grapple with the headwinds faced in the first half,” commented Vietnam Report.