Vietnam has been rated by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit, an offshoot of the UK Economist magazine, as one of the six best destinations for investors amongst all emerging markets because of its high level of sustained growth.
In a recent study, the EIU said that the shift of gravity in the global economy towards today's emerging markets continues to be led by the BRIC countries, ( Brazil , Russia , India and China ). However, many global investors are increasingly interested in a new tier of countries beyond the BRICs, which are the CIVETS or Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.
None of the CIVETS suffer from runaway inflation (although Egypt 's inflation rate remains fairly high). Nor do any of these countries have hugely inflated deficits.
As elsewhere, fiscal deficits have shot up because of the global crisis, but public debt in CIVETS countries is reasonably low. The main worry on this front is that Egypt , where public debt accounts for 80 percent of GDP but growth is slowing the debt burden and the young population means that the debt ratio is less worrying than it would be for members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Together with solid economic fundamentals, the CIVETS countries have proved resilient during the recent global economic crisis, putting this down to well thought out government policies in recent years. In addition, said the EIU, the political baseline has also supported economic development.
The agency expects CIVETS to post an average annual GDP growth of 4.5 percent over the next 20 years, slightly below the 4.9 percent average it projected for the BRICs, but well above the 1.8 percent forecast for the G7.
CIVETS look the best bet, says the EIU said, adding that they are not going to reshape the global economic order in the way the BRICs will. By 2030 only one more country, Egypt , will join the two, Indonesia and Turkey, that are already in the global top 20.
Although the combined GDP of CIVETS, even at purchasing-power parity, will remain at only one-fifth of the G7's, they will account for a significant proportion of global growth over that period. Their emergence will help to strengthen their respective regions and accelerate the shift of the global economy to the East and South./.
