Economy

Vietnam has undergone profound transition since the implementation of economic reforms known as “Doi Moi” Policy in 1986. Transferring from a centrally planned economy to an open market economy, Vietnam has continuously achieved high economic growth. Vietnam  is now one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, with an average GDP growth rate in excess of 8.0% per annum from 2000-2007

In recent years Vietnam has reached a number of political, economic and regulatory milestones that resulted in a significant increase in interest from foreign investors. These include the implementation of the Common Investment Law and the Unified Enterprise Law in effect since July 2006, the hosting of the 14th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November 2006 and the admission to the World Trade Organisation in January 2007. Given these achievements, which required years of preparation, it is not surprising that Vietnam is often praised for its political stability, commitment to openness and investor-friendly policies.

Strengthening Legal Framework and Stable Political Environment

With respect to the legislative system, Vietnam has undertaken encouraging improvements to create a more favourable and transparent legal framework facilitating investment activities. Recent accession to the WTO and enforcements of Investment Law, Enterprise and Securities Law show strong commitments from the Vietnamese government to promote a more open and attractive investment environment. These are expected to have favourable impacts on the process of raising investment capital from private sector and foreign invested sector and mobilizing resources for development.

Demographics

The annual rate of growth of population in Vietnam is 1.3% and the literacy rate is 93.7%, both are among the highest in Asia. As of July 2007, with a population of 85 million, Vietnam has 325 universities, colleges and higher education institutes and another 100 universities and colleges are being proposed to meet the growing market demand. 83% of all graduates have science-based degrees, the labor pool has around 80,000 IT graduates with 9,000 being added each year.

The Vietnamese labor force is among the youngest in the world with more than 70% under the age of 35, and is well known for its work ethic and motivation.