GFmag Online Readers Survey 2012
Vietnam


Vietnam Country Report: GDP data and GDP forecasts; economic, financial and trade information; the best banks in Vietnam; country and population overview

DATA ON GDP AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION
Central bankN/A
International ReservesUS$ 12.467 billion (Source: World Bank; Data updated: November 2010)
Gross Domestic Product - GDPUS$ 118.567 billion (2010 estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)297.095 billion of International dollars (2010 estimate)
Real GDP growth
20002001200220032004200520062007
6.8%6.9%7.1%7.3%7.8%8.4%8.2%8.5%
2008200920102011*
6.3%5.3%6.8%6.3%

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current pricesUS$ 1,327 (2007 estimate)
GDP per capita - PPP$3,326 International Dollars (2007 estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
19801990200020102015**
0.14%0.19%0.26%0.37%0.42%

**Forecast

GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 20% 
  • industry: 41.4% 
  • services: 38.6% (2011 estimate)

    • (Data released on February 2012)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP)N/A

(Data released on November 2010)

Inflation
2008200920102011*
23.1%(2008)6.7%9.2%13.5%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2008200920102011*
4.7%6%5%(2009)5%

*Estimate

Household saving ratesN/A

(Data released on November 2010)

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
20072008200920102011*
45.6%44%51.2%52.8%51.5%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
2007200820092010*2011**
-1.9%-0.9%-8.9%-6%-4.2%

*Estimate    **Forecast

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: BB/Negative/B

Moody's rating: Ba3

Moody's outlook: NEG

(Foreign Currency Government Bond Ratings; Data last updated Nov 2010)

Market value of publicly traded shares
200720082009
US$19.542 billionUS$9.589 billionUS$21.199 billion
Largest companies in VietnamN/A
DATA ON TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS
Current account balanceUS$ -4.8 billion (2010 estimate)(After 2008)
Current account balance by percentage of GDP-4% of GDP (2010 estimate)(2009)
Exports as percent of GDP

(Exports of goods and services)

69.2% (2009)

(Data released on December 2010)

Shares in world total merchandising export0.47%(2007)

(Data were released in Nov 2011 and refer to 2010)

Shares in world total commercial services export0.2%(2007)

(Data were released in Nov 2011 and refer to 2010)

Total exportsUS$72.03 billion f.o.b. (2010 estimate)
Export commoditiescrude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments
Total importsUS$79.37 billion f.o.b. (2008 estimate)
Import commoditiesmachinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles
Exports - major partnersUS 20.8%, Japan 12.5%, Australia 7.3%, China 6.9%, Singapore 4.5% (2007)
Imports - major partnersChina 19.9%, Singapore 12.1%, Taiwan 11%, Japan 9.9%, South Korea 8.5%, Thailand 6% (2007)
FDI inflows
200820092010
US$9,579 millionUS$7,600 million(2009)US$8,173 million(2009)
FDI outflows
200820092010
US$300 millionUS$700 millionUS$853 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2008200920102011
US$25 millionN/A(2009)US$59 million(2009)N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2008

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

N/A

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2010

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

N/A(2008 estimate)

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )

Best countries for doing business

World Bank/IFC Doing Business Project

(Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 183. A high ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.)

Overall ranking: 78 out of 183 countries(2009) (2010)

Subcategories:

Starting a business: 100 out of 183 countries(2009)

Registering property: 43 out of 183 countries

Paying Taxes: 124 out of 183 countries

Getting credit: 15 out of 183 countries

Protecting investors: 173 out of 183 countries

Trading across border: 63 out of 183 countries

Enforcing Contracts: 31 out of 183 countries

(2010)

Global competitiveness ranking
(ranking by country on a basis of 142, the first is the best)		65

(2011/2012)

Index of Economic Freedom

WSJ and Heritage Foundation

Ranking: 139 Score: 51.6 (Mostly Unfree) (2009)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed )

COUNTRY AND POPULATION OVERVIEW
Time zoneUTC+7
Total area 331,689 km2 (2006)
CapitalHanoi (2009)
Currencydong (VND) (2009)
Government typeCommunist state (2009)
LanguagesVietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
ReligionsBuddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census)
Total population
1980199020002010*2015**
54.18 million66.02 million77.64 million88.26 million93.68 million

*Estimate    **Forecast

Urban population as % of total population
1960198020002009
14.7%19.2%24.3%28.3%
Population median age25.0 years (2006)
Population growth rate1.2% (2009)
Life expectancy74 years (2007)
Adult literacy90% (2000/2007)
% of population living on less than $2 a day38.45% (2011)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

37.6 (2008)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

Freedom House rating

Political Rights:7
Civil Liberties:5 (2010)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free)

Total telephone subscribers as % of population

193.97% (2010)

(sum of fixed telephone lines and mobile cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population27.56% (Data were released in 2011 and refer to 2010)
Cost of living index

(ranking by city on a basis of 214; the 1st is the most expensive and the 214th is the least expensive)

Hanoi: 136th (2011)

CO2 emissions
(Metric tons of CO2 per capita)

1.4626 (2008)

GLOBAL FINANCE RANKINGS AND AWARDS

WORLD'S BEST TRADE FINANCE BANKS & PROVIDERS

2012:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Vietcombank (National, 2012)
2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (National, 2011)
2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (National, 2010)

WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS

2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks Citi (National, 2011)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate / Institutional Internet Banks HSBC (National, 2011)
2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate / Institutional Internet Banks Citi (National, 2010)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks HSBC (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks HSBC (2009)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate / Institutional Internet Banks Citi (2009)

WORLD'S BEST EMERGING MARKET BANKS

2012:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Techcombank (National, 2012)
2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Asia Commercial Bank (National, 2011)
2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Asia Commercial Bank (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Asia Commercial Bank (National, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST SUB CUSTODIANS

2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2011)
2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (2009)

TOP 200 EMERGING MARKETS BANKS

2010:
  • OVERALL BIGGEST Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (VBARD) (Global, 2010)

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROVIDERS

2012:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Sacombank (National, 2012)
2011:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Sacombank (National, 2011)
2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Sacombank (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Sacombank (National, 2009)
ARTICLES AND COUNTRIES REPORTS FROM GLOBAL FINANCE ARCHIVE