Vietnam moves up in competitiveness rankings

The Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 recently released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) witnessed a leap forward in two Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam and Indonesia.

People count money at a bank branch in Hanoi. Photo: Reuters

MagazineNikkei Asian ReviewAsia is a mixed picture in the Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 released by the WEF today (September 27).

While Indonesia, Vietnam and several other countries rose in the rankings, two major economies, Japan and India, fell behind.

Specifically, Indonesia ranked 36/137 countries thanks to improvements in 10/12 key assessment criteria, including health, education and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Vietnam jumped to 55th place, up 5 places compared to last year and 20 places compared to 5 years ago.

Vietnam is assessed to have made remarkable improvements in technological readiness and labor market efficiency. In addition, trade is another major factor helping Vietnam move forward.

The WEF report assessed that the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement may cause Vietnam to lose some trade opportunities, but Vietnam's growth "remains stable" thanks to strong exports.

Some other Asian countries with improved competitiveness include: Malaysia ranked 23rd; Thailand ranked 32nd; China ranked 27th; Philippines ranked 56th... These countries all increased by 1-2 ranks.

Singapore, although unable to win the championship, ranked 3rd; Switzerland ranked 1st, the US ranked 2nd...

Japan, however, fell for the second consecutive year, now ranking ninth. The world's third-largest economy performs well in infrastructure, health and education, but struggles in the macroeconomic environment due to its large public debt.

India dropped one place this year after rising continuously for the previous two years, ranking 40th.

According to Tuoi Tre