Vietnam likely to develop into new Asian tiger

The nation can be viewed as a rising star in the global supply chain and has the potential to become a new tiger in Asia, according to economist Brian Lee Shun Rong of Maybank, Malaysia's largest financial services group and the leading banking group in Southeast Asia.

Speaking at Forbes Vietnam’s recent Business Forum, Lee affirmed that the country will become a new tiger of Asia, following in the footsteps of the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and China’s Taiwan and Hong Kong.

He stated that Vietnamese industry is currently developing strongly, largely driven by foreign-invested enterprises.

According to data compiled by Maybank, both FDI influxes into the nation and its export turnover over the past decade are bigger than the other Southeast Asian countries previously mentioned. In particular, the electronics and phone industry has now surpassed garment and textiles to become the biggest contributor to the total export value.

This highlights that the nation has enhanced its position within the global value chain, said Lee, adding that the productivity of local workers is also grows faster than in other ASEAN member states.

As a means of becoming an Asian tiger, the country should have world-standard infrastructure and a skilled workforce, support domestic enterprises in improving their foothold in the global supply chain, as well as stepping up growth based on digital transformation, the economist noted.

In line with this, economic expert Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a lecturer at the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management, stated that the nation is competently controlling inflation and fiscal and monetary policies.

According to him, even if global oil prices increase again without exceeding the peak of US$120 per barrel, the nation’s economic situation this year will remain positive, with inflation below 4% and GDP growth over 7%.

VOV