The Nikkei Asia Review said Vietnam’s production sector has proven its fast and steady recovery. The country’s open market and signing of numerous free trade agreements (FTAs), particularly the EU-Vietnam FTA, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), are promising great opportunities for growth. The paper said Vietnam stands out for its success in controlling the pandemic.

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According to the latest Asian Development Outlook released by the Asia Development Bank, Vietnam was estimated to grow over 2 percent last year while Thailand contracted by 7.8 percent. Thanks to its larger market scale and cheaper labour cost, Vietnam surpassed Thailand in terms of foreign direct investment and export value.

The Financial Express quoted the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) as saying Vietnam has emerged as a low-cost manufacturing base in Asian supply chains, beating India and even China in indicators, including foreign direct investment (FDI) policy and foreign trade and exchange control.

The Malaysian-based The Star posted an article highlighting that member companies of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) inked several export contracts in early 2021, especially with European partners and those from RCEP member countries.

The Jakarta Post from Indonesia, meanwhile, praised the rise of e-commerce in Vietnam amid COVID-19. Although cash maintained its importance in the country, its number of mobile payments reached nearly 700 million by the end of August in 2020, up 980 percent against in the same period of 2019, official data showed.

Source: VNA