Vietnam to become world’s 19th largest economy by 2035: CEBR

Vietnam’s economy is expected to move to the 19th position in the rankings of the World Economic League Table in 2035, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

An overview of Cat Lai port in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: NDO)
An overview of Cat Lai port in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: NDO)

In its World Economic League Table 2021 released recently, CEBR said that Vietnam’s annual rate of GDP growth is forecast to pick up to an average of 7% between 2021 and 2025.

Over the subsequent ten years, CEBR forecasts that the Vietnamese economy will expand by 6.6% on average each year. The next 15 years are set to see Vietnam climb rapidly up the rankings of the World Economic League Table and its position will move from 37th in 2020 to 19th in 2035.

According to the Financial Times in the UK, multinationals are looking to set up their bases in Vietnam despite various challenges that the country poses as a manufacturing destination.

The newspaper cited Michael Kokalari, chief economist of VinaCapital in Ho Chi Minh City, as saying that more and more foreign companies are moving their production activities to Vietnam, and one prominent example is Apple, which began mass production of some of its AirPods wireless earbuds in Vietnam in the second quarter of this year when most of the world was in lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The Financial Times also took note of Vietnam’s big numbers which remain robust, pointing out that despite the pandemic, foreign direct investment disbursements are down only 2% to US$17.2 billion in the year to November.

The Vietnamese economy is on track to grow by 2.4% this year, becoming one of the fastest growing economies in the worlds. The Vietnamese Government is targeting growth of 6.5% next year.