Opinion: Vietnam the rising star of the Far East
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By Edward Baliddawa
From one of the poorest countries in the World with per capita income below US$100 per year, Vietnam is now a lower-middle income country with per capita income of US$2,551 (by the end of 2018).
The socialist-oriented market economy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the 45th-largest economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and 33rd-largest in the world measured by purchasing power parity (PPP).
Vietnamese remarkable growth is evidenced by these figures below:
- Gross domestic product: 241.272 billion USD (2018) nominal
- Gross domestic product: 710. 307 billion USD (2018) ppp
- GDP per capita: 2,551 USD (2018) nominal
- GDP per capita: 7,510 USD (2018) ppp
- GDP growth rate: 6.8% (2017)
- GDP growth rate: 7.1% (2018)
Vietnam has a mixed economy in which there is limited private freedom, butthe economy remains highly controlled by the government.As in many other developing countries, hunger and poverty in Vietnam has existed for a significant amount of time. Until the 1980s, most of the Vietnamese population still lived under the poverty line. However, thanks to the political and economic reform in 1986 and the government's commitment, the status of poverty and hunger in Vietnam has been significantly improved.Vietnam is a food processing hub that tries to meet the high demand for processed food from both local and international markets. The food industry is dominated by agricultural and sea products that are canned and shipped overseas, the sector accounts for 40% of Vietnam's export and directly contributes 15% of the GDP.According to a forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers in February 2018, Vietnam may be the fastest-growing of the world's economies, with a potential annual
GDP growth rate of about 5.1%, which would make its economy the 20th- largest in the world by 2050.
Something important to note is that this remarkable growth in Vietnamese economy has been recorded in a period of only 30 years.
Historically, Vietnam underwent turbulent times which saw the unforgettable brutal war between Communist North and Anti Communist South Vietnam as propped up by China, North Korea for the North and America for the South Vietnam. With the defeat and withdraw of the Americans in August 1973 from South Vietnam, the Communist North Vietnam invaded and overrun the South Vietnam in April 1975, thus marking the end of the war. Subsequently, in 1976 the two were unified to form one and the current Vietnam with its capital city Hanoi.
Although, Hanoi City located in the former South Vietnam with a population of 7.7 million people is the official capital city of the new and unified Vietnam, the largest city in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) with a population of 8.6 million people, a city named after the Communist leader of the North Vietnam.
According to DBS Bank (Hong Kong), Vietnam’s economy has the potential to grow at a pace of about 6% - 6.5% by 2029. According to DBS Bank, Vietnamcan overpower Singapore’s economy by the next decade because of its strongforeign investment inflow and productivity.
Since 1986, through the Doi Moi (Renovate) reform period, Vietnam has made a shift from a highly centralized command economy to a mixed economy that uses both directive and indicative planning through five year plans. The results of the Doi Moi reform have been tremendous. A visitor to Vietnamtoday would be mesmerized first by the drastic change of the country’sskyline.
A country that was as late as in the early 1980’s characterized with swampyfields and muddy isolated fields of paddy rice has dramatically changed over the period of only 30 years. Both the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Mihn now boast of some of the worlds super structures.
To illustrate the development that has been going on in Vietnam since the reform begun in 1986, the best way is to highlight a few of the milestone projects that have been undertaken in just the two cities of Hanoi and Ho chi Mihn as shown here below:
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AON Landmark Tower located in Hanoi City consists of 72 stories amd is amixed-use tower with the height of 350 m and two 48 story hotel twin towers. The investor, and executor and opertaor of the complex is the South Korean based company Keangnam Enterprises. Investment capital is estimated at US$1.05 billion.
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Bitexco Financial Tower in Ho Chi Mihn City. The tower has 68 floors above ground and stands at 262.5 meters. The building has Shopping Mall, Offices and Restaurants
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Saigon One Tower in Ho Chi Mihn City. The building is a 41 story tower and estimated cost is US$228 million. It has three functions, Shopping Mall, Offices and Apartments. It rises to 195.3 meters
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Lotte Center is the second tallest building in Vietnam after Kaengna. Lotte center Hanoi inclused offices, a 5 Star Hotel a 6th floor Lotte department store, services residences.
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Under construction: Empire City will comprise premuim high apartments, office and retail as well as a mixed use 86- story tower. Estimated completion 2020
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The Empire City building will be an eco friendly gree city with all the luxuries syncronised for the urban dwellers.
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This is Starlake Hanoi infrastrucre under development
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Saigon Tower Two
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Well, as you can see above from a few selected projects that have given Vietnman its reputation for a fast growing economy, the country is a rising start in the far east.
