Economy

A corner of Singapore (Photo: AFP) - Singapore has made the top 10 rankings of the most competitive places for talent - the first time it has reached the elite level in a league table compiled by Swiss business school IMD. It is also the only Asian country to make the list, which is dominated by European states. Switzerland topped the IMD World Talent rankings, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Luxembourg. Singapore rose three notches to edge out Germany for the 10th spot. The rankings, which appraise how 63 economies develop, attract and retain talent, are based on historical data as well as surveys of thousands of executives. Economies are then scored based on three categories of investment and development, appeal and readiness. Investment and development takes into account indicators such as public spending on education, pupil-teacher ratio and health infrastructure, while appeal factors in components such as cost of living, worker motivation and quality of life. Readiness … [Read more...] about Singapore among top 10 competitive economies for talent

Illustrative image (Source: Internet) Aside from joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), the country has signed 17 free trade agreements (FTAs), including several new-generation FTAs such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA). The implementation of the commitments outlined in these trade deals offers plenty of opportunities for the national economy, in addition to providing a boost to the production sector in the context of fiercer competition from imported goods, especially those coming from CPTPP and EVFTA member states. According to statistics, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has begun an investigation into 15 trade remedy cases, including eight anti-dumping lawsuits, six self-defence cases, and one trade remedy evasion. As of the end of September, up to 154 trade remedy cases had been initiated by 19 nations and territories regarding Vietnam’s … [Read more...] about Businesses need to prepare themselves to tackle trade defence instruments

The event, part of activities in the Vietnam Year in Russia and the Russia Year in Vietnam, was organized by the Institute of Economy under the Russian Academy of Sciences. Reports at the symposium analyzed impacts of international situations and globalization on the economies of Vietnam and Russia and compared the development models of the two nations. President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) Prof Dr Nguyen Quang Thuan at the event They also commented on Vietnam-Russia cooperation potential in the 21st century and within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union - Vietnam free trade agreement. Participants said that as a scientific-technological power, Russia should bolster its science-technology strengths in the Vietnamese market amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Prof Dr Thuan said that at the event, Vietnamese experts and their Russian counterparts assessed milestones in the two countries’ relations over the years and discussed … [Read more...] about Experts of Vietnam, Russia discuss cooperation in economic globalization

The slow disbursement of capital has stalled many projects, affecting socio-economic development. Answering National Assembly deputies at the Steering Committee’s session in mid-August, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung admitted that agencies were dilatory in disbursing capital in the first months of year and they only geared up in the last months. The reason explains the slow disbursement rate in the first eight months of 2019. The slow disbursement lessens capital use efficiency, affects economic growth, business and investment environment and economic contracts that Vietnam has signed. “As public projects cannot be developed, private invested works will also be at a standstill,” he added. “In general, when the money is in coffer, it is the ‘dead capital. " “The private sector is an important part of the national economy. If the development of the sector gets stuck, national growth will be affected,” he warned. … [Read more...] about Slow disbursement causes concern

Commenting about the reliance of Vietnam’s economy on FIEs (foreign invested enterprises), one economist noted that “when FIEs sneeze, the Vietnamese economy catches a cold". Vietnam is listed among the economies with the highest GDP growth rates in recent years. According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the rate was 6.21 percent in 2016, 6.81 percent in 2017, 7.07 percent in 2018 and 6.71 percent in the first half of 2019. Because of the problem with Samsung, Vietnam’s GDP growth rate in Q1 2018 was low, just 5.1 percent in comparison with the 5.5 percent in the same period of 2016. The figure was far below the 6.7 percent GDP growth rate of the entire year of 2017. “The fact that Samsung recalled its products not only affected Vietnam’s exports, but also led to a GDP growth rate decrease. This shows that Vietnam’s economy depends too heavily on FIEs,” said Do Thien Anh Tuan, a respected economist. Linh Ha Vietnamese IPs … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s GDP too heavily dependent on foreign-invested enterprises: economists