APEC 2017: Vietnam’s economic changes between two APEC Years
Vietnam’s economic changes since its first hosting of the APEC Year in 2006 were the main content of an article written by Edmund Sim, which was recently published on The Diplomat magazine.
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s economic changes since its first hosting of theAPEC Year in 2006 were the main content of an article written by Edmund Sim,which was recently published on The Diplomat magazine.
Accordingto Edmund Sim, an expert specialising in internationaltrade and ASEAN law and policy, the APEC 2006 summit in Hanoi was “Vietnam’scoming-out party, its debut on the world economic stage”.
Improved ties boosted trade, foreigninvestment, and economic growth, he wrote.
He cited the World Bank’s statistics thatVietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) more than doubled from 25 billion USD in1996 to 66 billion USD in 2006. Gross national income (GNI) per capita improvedfrom 310 USD in 1996 to 760 USD in 2006. However, net annual inflows of foreigndirect investment (FDI) remained at or below 2.4 billion USD during thisperiod.
Since 2006, the Vietnamese Government haspaid more attention to regional and international integration. The country’seconomy has enjoyed positive changes thanks to its investment attractionpolicies as well as bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements.
Strengthened economic integration hashelped Vietnam diversify its export markets, he wrote, citing the UnitedNations’ statistics that Vietnam’s trade surplus reached 162 billion USD in2015.
Last year, Vietnam’s GDP hit 203 billionUSD, a threefold increase compared with 2006. Meanwhile, FDI rose four times to11.8 billion USD in 2015, according to the WB.
However, he also noted that Vietnam isfacing a lot of difficulties and challenges in the context of arisingprotectionism and tariff barriers in several countries.
Vietnam is hosting the APEC Year 2017. TheAPEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Meeting, which takes place in Da Nang city fromNovember 10-11, is the most important external event of Vietnam this year, withthe participation of leaders from the 21 member economies.-VNA
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A view of Nhat Tan Bridge in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) 
