Role as global manufacturing hub to fuel Vietnam’s growth: Oxford Economics

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

The UK's forecasting and quantitative analysing company Oxford Economics has given positive assessments on Vietnam, highlighting the rising role of the country in the global manufacturing supply chains.

In a research released on April 13, the firm noted that Vietnam’s goods exports were up 6.9 percent in 2020, a moderation from 8.5 percent growth in 2019, but still a solid achievement given world trade fell 7.8 percent.

Vietnam also further strengthened its world market share to 1.6 percent of goods exports in 2020, up from 1.4 percent in 2019 and 0.5 percent in 2010, as a substantial rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased the country’s role in global manufacturing supply chains.

According to Oxford Economics, Vietnam was able to take full advantage of the work-from-home-related global boom in demand for computers, other electronics, and furniture. These tailwinds will likely fade this year as an easing in restrictions will allow production in other countries to normalise, it said.

It expected Vietnam’s export manufacturing sector will be buoyed by a rebound in world trade this year. It forecast that as coronavirus-related restrictions are rolled back and vaccines become more widely available, world trade in real terms will surge nearly 10 percent this year.

This is in part because of the US’s 1.9 trillion USD stimulus package, which will also likely bolster US demand for Vietnamese exports, it added./.