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Yet achieving its goal of becoming a rich country by 2045 will still be a huge task
Sep 22nd 2022 | BAC NINH
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Antony to swaggers between the rows of humming machines in his factory in Bac Ninh province, in Vietnam’s north-east, as they spit out blistering-hot bits of plastic. His firm, Hanpo Vina, ships the bits to the Samsung plant down the road as well as to nearby makers of printers, speakers, laptops and other electronic items. Mr To picks a Brazil-bound Samsung phone charger from a counter and displays it proudly. On the back, laser-etched in Portuguese, is a version of that familiar stamp of globalisation: Fabricado no Vietname.
That message—Made in Vietnam—has been emblazoned on ever more products in umpteen languages since the formerly communist economy started opening up and promoting private enterprise in the late 1980s. Since 2000, Vietnam’s gdp has grown faster than that of any Asian country bar China, averaging 6.2% per year. It has lured big foreign firms in droves. What started with apparel makers such as Nike and Adidas seeking low-skilled labour has turned into a boom in electronics—higher-value goods that create better-paid jobs for more highly skilled workers. In 2020 electronics made up 38% of Vietnam’s goods exports, up from 14% of a much smaller pie in 2010 (see chart).
Vietnam is emerging as a winner from the era of deglobalisation
Yet achieving its goal of becoming a rich country by 2045 will still be a huge task
www.economist.com