Businesses in Vietnam take the form of State-owned Enterprises (SOEs), Private Sector Enterprises, Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIEs), Cooperatives (often generally translated as collectives), and non-farm Household Business (HHB). Having never been taken to the spotlight but non-farm Household Businesses have proven to be one of the mainstays of the Vietnamese Economy. In the last few years when economic difficulties have hit hard the country, non-farm HHBs have again proven its strong vitality. In difficult time, it is this business sector that has played the role as the mainstay for the economy, especially in terms of job creation and providing the much-needed income for the people of lower quintiles. Non-farm HHB is a typical feature of Vietnam’s economy and has a longer history of development than any other types of formal enterprises. Non-farm HHB sector continues to provide million of jobs and contribute greatly to economic growth and poverty reduction in Vietnam. However, unlike SOEs or bigger private sector enterprises (especially those in property and financial and banking sectors), these tiny business entities are not benefiting from any bailout measures from the Government. They even do not have an association to clamor for one.
