Việt Nam has a market economy: Expert

A view of HCM City. Việt Nam has rapidly transitioned from a centrally planned economy to a market one, according to experts. — VNA/VNS Photo

SYDNEY — Việt Nam has a market economy, if the pace of reforms it has undertaken from the Đổi Mới (Renewal) period in 1986 to now is taken into consideration, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Australia’s Deakin University Dr Công Phạm has assessed.

Việt Nam joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007 and has since signed numerous multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with various countries, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and the Việt Nam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement.

The FTAs signed have increasingly integrated Việt Nam into the global economy with stringent competitive rules and also encouraged the country to adopt practices of free competition, the scholar said.

According to the expert, another point showing Việt Nam has rapidly transitioned from a centrally planned economy to a market one is the emergence of private companies and startups. He noted that the private sector has grown alongside a reduction in the number of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) through the equitisation of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

He pointed to six factors that prove Việt Nam is a market economy.

First, the private sector has grown rapidly, and now accounts for nearly 45 per cent of GDP, contributes one-third of the State budget, provides 40 per cent of investment capital, and employs 85 per cent of the country’s workforce.

Second, Việt Nam has reformed its foreign investment laws, and attracted over US$18 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first seven months of this year.

Third, Việt Nam has developed a competitive market environment across various sectors.

Fourth, the legal framework has evolved to support the growth of the private sector, with the promulgation of intellectual property protection laws, the Enterprise Law, and the Investment Law. These laws, introduced in the mid-2000s and revised several times, have become crucial in creating a transparent environment, stated Công Phạm.

Fifth, Việt Nam’s financial market is developing rapidly, with significant increases in stock market capitalisation over the past time.

Sixth, Việt Nam’s national target programme for poverty reduction for 2021-2025 aims to reduce the poverty rate by 1-1.5 per cent per year on average. According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, the poverty rate is projected to be around 0.9 per cent by the end of 2025, he added. — VNS