Vietnam's online biz registration database to be completed end-2013

Vietnam's online national business registration system will be fully completed by the end of the year, allowing companies to verify the trustworthiness of their partners.

Le Quang Manh, head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Business Registration Agency, said the agency was cooperating with provincial business offices to update details of all firms on the database this year, according to a report last week by Vietnam Investment Review (VIR).

“This is a very good system where an enterprise can find trustworthy information about others that it is going to cooperate with. But due to poor archives in the past, we have to review and correct information of all registered enterprises in order to make it appropriate to the new system," said Manh in the article.

According to the Business Registration Agency, information on around 730,000 companies has been imported to the national business registration system, but two-thirds of the data has not been updated for years and  aboout 140,000 firms no longer operating or bankrupt.

The national business registration is supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, as part of a business registration reform, noted VIR.

Cao Sy Kiem, chairman of Vietnam Small and Medium Enterprises Association, pointed out it would be important for regulations to be introduced to support the system, such as a requirement for regular reporting.

"At this time, many enterprises do not report annually to state authorities or report dishonestly because of the lack of strong legal regulations," he said.