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Vietnam Tops List of Trade Performers in ASEAN

Ha Nguyen

   HO CHI MINH CITY - Vietnam has just topped a list of economic
   performers in Southeast Asia, a list that Standard Chartered Bank calls
   the "rising stars" of global trade based on improvements the countries
   have made and their future potential.

   The bank's new Trade20 Index looks at 20 countries with promise around
   the world, and Vietnam ranks No. 6 on the index. However among the
   list's countries in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is No. 1, moving past the
   likes of Indonesia and Thailand.

   Reasons for Vietnam's Economic Success

   The factors in Vietnam's favor, according to the bank, include improved
   infrastructure, diverse trade with many countries and products
   especially amid the China-U.S. trade war, and political stability. The
   single-party term of the Communist Party since 1975 is the longest in
   Southeast Asia, after the People's Action Party in power in Singapore
   since 1959.

   "Vietnam's economic openness and integration is paying off," Nirukt
   Sapru, who is the chief executive officer for Vietnam, Southeast Asia,
   and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, said last week. "The country
   has now become the fastest-growing economy in the region, a clear
   indicator of the benefits the country is reaping from an open economy."

   Good news in the country is in contrast to the region and the rest of
   the world. Vietnam's economic growth of close to 7 percent a year is
   about twice the rate of growth of the worldwide economy. And neighbors
   in Southeast Asia are dealing with a variety of worries.

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