Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam has climbed in the ranking of the best destinations in which to invest this year, surpassing other Southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
A recent report by the US News and World Report ranked Vietnam eighth out of the 29 economies, up from 23 last year. Meanwhile, some neighbouring nations – Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia – stood in the 13th, 14th and 18th positions, respectively.
According to the report, the Doi moi (renewal) or reforms beginning in 1986 have helped Vietnam transit itself into a more modern and competitive nation.
Vietnam’s continued efforts to lessen international isolation are shown in joining of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007 and participation in free trade negotiations with the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2010.
It is also a member of the United Nations, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, among other international organisations, the report stated.
US News & World Report is an American media company that publishes news, analysis, consumer advice and rankings. More than 20,000 people from across the globe participated in this study.
The ranking of the best destinations to invest in draws from the results of a global perceptions-based survey and ranks countries based on the highest scores among nearly 7,000 business decision makers on a compilation of eight equally weighted country attributes including corruption, dynamics, economic stability, entrepreneurial, favourable tax environment, innovation, skilled labour force and technological expertise.
According to Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc, the key to promoting Vietnam’s economic growth in 2020 will be the rise of production and business in the domestic market, which has an increasing purchasing power.
With improved indicators of inflation, budget deficit and foreign exchange reserves over the past time, Loc said that Vietnam’s capacity to withstand external shocks has been strengthened.
Domestic scholars forecast that Vietnam's GDP growth is likely to expand 7.02 percent this year. This figure is much higher than the forecasts of between 6.6 – 6.8 percent by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
According to Chief Economist cum R&D Director at SSI Securities Corporation Nguyen Duc Hung Linh, foreign investors looking to invest in Vietnam's stock market are particularly interested in the sector of consumer goods.
Delegates share the view that to improve effectiveness of the economy, it is necessary to promote institutional reform (Photo: VietnamPlus)
In addition to textiles, footwear, furniture, electronics, and agricultural and fishery products, Vietnam will have opportunities to attract investment to the retail sector, tourism, entertainment, education, health care, support industry, and logistics services, Loc said.
He added that emerging sectors including green economy, creative economy, digital economy, smart urban development, infrastructure, and real estate are also highly appreciated by domestic and international investors.
Participants to the forum also stressed the need to improve the business environment and promote institutional reform in order to better the national economy’s effectiveness and competitiveness.
Phan Duc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), affirmed that the Government has made great efforts to improve the business environment.
Phan Duc Hieu, Deputy Director of CIEM, speaks at the forum (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Vietnam was placed 67th out of the 141 countries in the Global Competitiveness Report 2019, up 10 places compared to its 2018 ranking and also up 3.5 points, which are the fastest increases in the world.
The country has moved up three ranks on the 2019 Global Innovation Index to place 42nd out of the 129 economies around the world.
With this jump, Vietnam has leaped 17 spots since 2016. This year’s result is also the highest ranking Vietnam has ever achieved./.
