VietNamNet Bridge - Economic institutions have in the last month have repeatedly warned about the low productivity rate in Vietnam compared with other regional countries.



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At a seminar on Vietnam’s economic performance in the first nine months of 2015 held in Hanoi on September 11, Dr Ho Dinh Bao, head of a research team from the Hanoi Economics University, said that if Indonesian and Filipino productivity remained unchanged, Vietnam would catch up with them in 10 years.

The research team found that Vietnamese productivity was worryingly low compared with ASEAN and Asian economies. In 2012, Vietnam’s productivity was 18 times lower than Singapore’s, and 11 times lower than South Korea.

Supposing that the other regional countries have the same productivity growth rate as Vietnam’s, the gap in productivity between Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines will be eliminated in 20 years. 

Meanwhile, it will take Vietnam 50 years to catch up with Thailand.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, head of the Vietnam National Productivity Institute (VNPI), confirmed that the productivity in ASEAN countries had been two to three times higher than Vietnam’s since 2010.

On the same day, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) released a report showing that Vietnam’s productivity was lower than ASEAN 6 (six better developed economies in ASEAN) and lower than most countries in Asia Pacific.

Vietnamese productivity is equal to 1/5 of Malaysia’s, 2/5 of Thailand’s and 1/15 of Singapore’s.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) on September 7 released a report saying that Vietnam would only catch up with the Philippines in productivity by 2038 and with Thailand by 2069.

GSO warned that the real time needed to catch up with the regional countries may even be longer than estimated because the countries, well aware of the pressure in the global integration process, have been gearing up to upgrade themselves.

The warning for the fourth time was mentioned in late August in a report about Vietnam’s productivity submitted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment to government members. 

The report also said that if Vietnam maintained the 2007-2012 productivity growth rate, it would only catch up with the Philippines by 2038 and with Thailand by 2069.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan also warned about the low productivity rate. In 2011-2013, Vietnam’s productivity increased by 3 percent per annum, while the GDP was 5 percent. 

“If Vietnam does not have reasonable policies, the low productivity will pull the GDP growth down,” he warned.

Meanwhile, GSO’s general director Nguyen Bich Lam commented that productivity was the most important factor for Vietnam to improve its competitiveness.

Dat Viet