Having sidestepped the worst of the coronavirus pandemic so far, Vietnam
aims to rev up its economy over the next five years, trusting on its customtooled mix of free trade deals, privatisation and tight COVID-19 curbs.
Armed with a raft of free trade deals envied by regional peers and
increasingly luring factories away from China, the ruling Communist Party
on Monday formally approved ambitions to raise growth beyond an annual
6% in the pre-pandemic era to 6.5%-7.0% for the 2021-2025 period.
In an economic development blueprint confirmed at its five-yearly congress,
it said it would boost its growing role as a key manufacturing hub for global
giants like Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp. At the same time, the
Party is targeting raising the country''s profile beyond a low-cost labour
destination to a centre for science and technology.
With more than a dozen free trade agreements now under its belt, Vietnam
aims to expand and diversify export markets, the Party said.
The country has reaped the benefit of China and the United States, its
largest trading partners, being locked in a bitter trade war that has seen
Western manufacturers look to move more and more of their production
out of China - with Vietnam a popular choice.
The lofty 2021-2025 targets come as Vietnam recoils from its worst
outbreak of COVID-19 in nearly two months, a reminder that future success
will depend in the short term at least on keeping the virus at bay.
Last year''s 2.9% growth would have been welcome in many countries
around the world, but was the worst year in decades for Vietnam''s economy
as it soaked up the impact of tight quarantines, border closures and other
anti-virus curbs.
Despite the pandemic, in January, a unit of Taiwan''s Foxconn Technology
Co Ltd, a key Apple Inc supplied, obtained a licence to invest $270 million
in the country as it is moving some iPad and MacBook assembly from China.
Meanwhile U.S. chipmaker Intel said it raised its investment in Vietnam by
$475 million to $1.5 billion.
The country will "focus on measures to basically complete the elements of a
socialist-oriented market economy, better handling the relationship
between the state and the market and society," according to the Party''s
economic blueprint.
Analysts say that''s code for Vietnam continuing its drive to privatise stateowned enterprises, except for those operating in areas deemed essential for
national security and defence.
The Party also said it will shift its focus on foreign direct investment (FDI)
from quantity to quality, with a focus on environmental risks.
After decades of development driven by robust FDI, largely in labourintensive and environmentally unfriendly business, Vietnam "won''t allow
projects with outdated technologies, environment pollution risks," it said.
Source: The Economic Times, India Wednesday, 03 February 2021