More small and medium-sized companies are active in developing countries, the sector organisation MVO Nederland said on Monday.

The MVO survey shows that 12% of small firms have offices and workers in developing countries, up from 7% a year ago.

According to the MVO, these companies are experiencing fewer problems with the financial crisis, with just 2% citing the crisis as the most important market development.

Production

However, the number of small firms doing business from the Netherlands with developing economies has dropped from 11% to 7%, partly due to the movement of production to countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, the MVO said.

The MVO survey also shows that small and medium-sized companies active in developing countries are more conscious of their social responsiblities. They take more account of the environment and their workers’ conditions.