To date, Vietnam has established comprehensive strategic partnership and strategic partnership with all countries of the UN Security Council and G20 countries, opening up many new opportunities to promote cooperation with business partners. 

Many cooperation activities in economics, trade, investment, science, technology, innovation, culture, human resource development, environment and climate change have been conducted, while new opportunities have opened up in chips, semiconductors, digital transformation, energy transition, and science and technology. 

Vietnam has signed 16 free trade agreements (FTAs) with more than 60 countries and partners all over the globe. Vietnam exported $355.5 billion worth of products in 2023. The US was the largest market which imported $96.78 billion worth of products from Vietnam, or 27.2 percent of the country’s total export turnover. 

In the Vietnam-US trade relationship, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of $83 billion. China was the second largest market for Vietnam which consumed $61.67 billion worth of products, or 17.3 percent of Vietnam’s total export turnover. The trade deficit with China was estimated at $49.9 billion, down 17.6 percent. 

The total registered FDI in Vietnam in 2023 reached $36.61 billion, up 32.1 percent over 2022. Of this, the newly registered capital was $20.19 billion, up 62.2 percent over 2022. The figure shows that foreign investors maintained interest in Vietnam and confidence in Vietnam as a good investment environment.  

The implemented FDI capital was estimated at $23.18 billion, up 3.5 percent. In 2023, Vietnam received 12.6 million foreign travelers, which was 3.4 times higher than that of 2022. Tourism recovery has helped create more jobs and improve people’s incomes. 

The 2023 GII (Global Innovation Index) Report released by WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization) showed that Vietnam ranked 46th out of 132 countries/economies, a two-grade promotion compared with 2022. With the results, it ranked fourth in Southeast Asia and the second position among the 36 economies with lower average income. 

The report recognized Vietnam’s two-grade improvement in its innovation input ranking, from 59th to 57th. 

Vietnam was one of seven average-income countries that made the greatest progress in innovations in the last decade (the other six countries included China, Turkey, India, the Philippines, Indonesia and Iran). 

Vietnam was one of three countries holding record in outstanding achievements in growth level in the last 13 consecutive years (India, Moldova and Vietnam). 

Foreign partners and international institutions have praised Vietnam’s growth potential and macroeconomic management. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that Vietnam’s economy would be ranked 20th in the world with a growth rate of 5.8 percent in 2024. e-Conomy SEA 2023 Report predicted that Vietnam’s digital economy growth rate would be 20 percent in 2023-2025, the highest growth rate in the region, and would have value of $45 billion by 2025. 

According to JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization), Vietnam is the most attractive business development point in ASEAN, which is why more than 60 percent of Japanese companies in Vietnam planning to scale up their business in the next two years. 

Vietnam received a 4-grade promotion on the list of the safest countries in the world, ranking 41st, according to GPI (Global Peace Index) 2023 released by IEP (the Institute for Economics and Peace). 

Other prestigious organizations have also praised Vietnam’s economic achievements and potential. The world’s prestigious credit rating firms continue to maintain the high national credit ratings for Vietnam. Fitch Ratings in December raised Vietnam’s long-term national credit rating to BB+ with ‘stable’ outlook. Moody’s in May 2023 maintained Vietnam’s credit rating at Ba2 with ‘stable’ outlook, while S&P gave Vietnam BB+ and ‘stable’ outlook. 

Vietnam’s business environment ranking also improved with a jump of 12 positions in EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) report released in May 2023. 

Vietnam’s national brand value increased by one grade to 32nd among 100 national brands in the world with value of $431 billion. According to Brand Finance, Vietnam’s brand value has seen the fastest growth rate in the world since 2019 (74 percent). 

In the eyes of foreign investors, Vietnam has great potential, especially in purchasing power, population and geopolitical position. 

Lan Anh