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- Tim McDonald
- BBC News, Singapore
Image source, fake images
Vietnam has successfully limited the economic damage caused by Covid-19 and is the only country in Southeast Asia that will see growth by 2020.
Vietnam’s economy is forecast to grow 2.4% this year, according to the latest IMF statistics.
The IMF praised Vietnam for taking “decisive measures to curb the economic and health damage caused by Covid-19.”
So far, Vietnam has only 1,288 cases and 35 deaths.
The IMF forecasts that Vietnam will have a strong economic recovery in 2021, with growth likely to reach 6.5%.
Many factors help minimize the damage, says Michael Kokalari, Vinacapital’s chief economist.
Perhaps the most surprising factor is the number of people around the world who already work from home.
He told the BBC: “People buy new laptops, buy new office supplies, work and stay at home more. And a lot of these things are made in Vietnam.”
Vietnam’s manufacturing sector has grown strongly in the past 10 years as companies look elsewhere due to rising labor costs in China.
The trade wars between the United States and China also make China less attractive in terms of production.
Many multinational companies have already started working in Vietnam, such as Apple and Samsung
Apple plans to produce Airpods headphones in Vietnam.
Mr. Kokalari said that Covid-19 also caused more companies to consider switching to production in Vietnam.
“When Covid came along, we thought there was a global manufacturing supply chain, but it turned out it was just China and it couldn’t produce more.”
