Vietnam makes it into top 5 economic freedom gainers in Asia-Pacific region

Mar 19th at 08:36
19-03-2020 08:36:47+07:00

Vietnam makes it into top 5 economic freedom gainers in Asia-Pacific region

In its efforts to become an open economy, Vietnam jumped 23 notches to become 105th on the 2020 Index of Economic Freedom by The Heritage Foundation.

Vietnam makes it into top 5 economic freedom gainers in Asia-Pacific region
Vietnam is catching up to the region and the world in economic freedom

According to the report on the 2020 Index Economic Freedom, Vietnam jumped 23 positions higher from its global rank of 128th in 2019, becoming one of the top 5 economic freedom gainers in the Asia-Pacific region with a score of plus 3.5.

Vietnam ranks 21st among the 42 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and 105th in the world. Overall, the country's economic freedom score is 58.8, slightly below the regional and world average, which are 61.1 and 61.6, respectively.

The country's current rank is a 36-place improvement against 2018 when it was 141st in the world. Additionally, its economic freedom ranking and score has been constantly improving for three years in a row now.

The rise was made on the basis of a dramatic gain in fiscal health and export-focused manufacturing and processing sectors driving strong GDP growth over the past five years.

Economic freedom is measured based on 12 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four broad categories:

  1. Rule of Law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness)
  2. Government Size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health)
  3. Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom)
  4. Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom)
Vietnam makes it into top 5 economic freedom gainers in Asia-Pacific region
Vietnam's economic freedom score climbed higher for the third year in a row

The report mentions several positive trends worth noting. In property rights, although all land is collectively owned and managed by the state, as of September 2018, the government has begun issuing land use rights certificates for 96.9 per cent of land in Vietnam.

Starting a business has become easier, and the cost of business registration has been cut. Corporate governance standards and the enforcement of labour laws remain weak, however. Price stabilisation controls remain in effect for fuel, energy, and water utilities, natural resources, and pharmaceuticals. In 2019, the government pledged to continue subsidies to the national air carrier (Vietnam Airlines) for up to 10 years. 

The total value of exports and imports of goods and services equals 187.5 per cent of GDP. The average applied tariff rate is 2.7 per cent, and 80 non-tariff measures are in force. The overall investment framework has been modernised to facilitate foreign investment. The financial sector continues to evolve, and directed lending by state-owned commercial banks has been scaled back in recent years.

Vietnam has made attempts to be an increasingly open economy. Until now, Vietnam has 13 effective free trade agreements (FTAs), including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with 10 other countries.

VIR





NEWS SAME CATEGORY

Viet Nam jumps 23 places in economic freedom index

Viet Nam jumped 23 places from last year to reach 58.8 points, ranking 105th place in the economic freedom index this year.

Tiki falling behind e-commerce competition

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Tiki slipped to the fourth position among Vietnamese e-commerce platforms, behind Lazada, Sendo, and Shopee from the second place...

Vietnam’s trade surplus jumps to US$1.82 billion in Jan-Feb

The FDI sector posted exports of US$26.2 billion in the January – February period, up 5% year-on-year and accounting for 67% of Vietnam’s exports.

Covid pandemic boosts online shopping in Vietnam

The demand on online shopping in Vietnam is increasing, bringing positive results to e-commerce platforms in Vietnam.

Adapting to new economic travails

The Vietnamese government has enacted Directive No.11 on supporting enterprises out of difficulties caused by COVID-19. Raymond Mallon, senior economic advisor from...

Public capital disbursement improves in first two months

Almost 34.75 trillion VND (1.49 billion USD) of public investment capital was disbursed in the first two months of 2020, equivalent to 7.38 percent of the year’s...

Boosting investment into specialised industrial parks

More investment has been channelled into building specialised industrial parks to meet the burgeoning business demand in the southern region.

Vietnam targets fiscal deficit at below 4% of GDP in 2020

Vietnam continues to restructure the state budget and public debt management to ensure national financial security and sustainability .

Ho Chi Minh City proposes series of incentives for businesses hit by COVID-19

If the proposal of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee goes through, enterprises that are impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic will be either exempted or get a...

E-commerce market to almost double by 2023: report

Vietnam’s e-commerce market is projected to grow to VND399.5 trillion ($17.3 billion) in 2023 from VND218.3 trillion ($9.4 billion) last year, according to...


MOST READ


Back To Top