Vietnam’s breakout moment amidst COVID-19

VSIP Hai Phong remains a bright spot in FDI attraction in 2020, with 58 projects worth over 2 billion USD. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Japan’s Nikkei Asia Review has run an article, saying thanks to its performance on the public-health front, Vietnam has been given its biggest economic opportunity in decades.

In an article published on January 20, Nikkei Asia Review said Vietnam has well contained the pandemic given the country's shared border with China where the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was first found.

The economy, bars and all, has stayed open, propelling it to one of 2020's highest growth rates even while neighbouring countries wrestled with recession.

2020 was the year Vietnam introduced three trade deals, lured billboard investors like Apple suppliers, launched another airline, and rose to No. 6 from No. 7 in Southeast Asia by per capita income, according to the article.

Rather than pit public health against the economy, Vietnam's mantra has been that protecting the former would safeguard the latter, which it calls "dual goals."

Thanks to its performance on the public-health front, Vietnam has been given its biggest economic opportunity in decades. The country claimed one of the fastest rates of GDP growth in the world, at 2.9 percent, the article cited Vietnam's General Statistics Office, while aiming for 6.5 percent in 2021.

Thanks to the economic growth, Vietnam ticked off a small milestone. GDP per capita squeesed past that of the Philippines, according to October projections from the International Monetary Fund. And in absolute terms, Vietnam's GDP overtook Singapore's and Malaysia's, giving it the fourth-biggest economy in Southeast Asia for the first time.

Investors also see Vietnam as one of the few prospects right now. The country ranked No. 2 in the world, behind the US, in a Euromonitor list of the most likely M&A destinations for 2021, based on criteria like industrial production and technology use.

The article stressed that Vietnam’s pandemic response demonstrates to foreigners this is a safe place to invest.

The technology sector has been put at the centre of Vietnam’s ambition to become an upper middle-income country by 2025.

To that end, Vietnam notched a handful of high-profile investments in 2020, from Pegatron, a supplier for Apple and Samsung, to LG Electronics.

By year's end, nearly all of Apple's major suppliers in the region had set up shop in Vietnam or planned to do so.

The electronics sector already comprises Vietnam's largest export category, but is dominated by basic production and assembly. Increasingly, officials say they will approve high-tech and eco-friendly investments with more added value.

Workers at SanQi Vietnam are packaging medical masks (Photo: VNA)

Companies in Vietnam have used the pandemic pause to increase the capacity of local staff, as well. Multiple firms say Vietnamese employees are stepping in while foreign colleagues cannot enter the country. More than half, 56 percent, of personnel managers said they would prioritize reskilling or upskilling in the coming quarter.

To speed up the overall recovery, the government approved limited relief funding of 2.7 billion USD. The government also cut taxes and fees, offered loans, and ramped up public spending -- including on much-needed infrastructure.

According to the article, Vietnam was transparent in the pandemic fight. The government shared constant updates about its COVID-19 response, minutiae of patients' movement history, and how it ruled whether a death was linked to the disease.

It quoted Caitlin Wiesen, United Nations Development Programme representative in Vietnam, as saying that "I believe that lessons learned from this success in terms of transparency, accountability, and social cohesion will help the government in dealing with future crises.”

From improved governance and infrastructure to better-equipped workers and suppliers, a range of outcomes is possible in Vietnam after the pandemic, the article said./.