US President Trump underscores Vietnamese dynamism

US President Donald Trump lauded Vietnam's high-performing economy, making special note of students, the next generation of highly-trained professionals and business leaders

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In his speech at the APEC CEO Summit within the framework of the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Week today afternoon, US President Donald Trump said, “Today, an opening Vietnamese economy is one of the fastest-growing economies on Earth. It has already increased more than 30 times over, and the Vietnamese students rank among the best students in the world. And that is very impressive. ”

"Vietnam is a big story with economic successes across the Asia-Pacific region," President Trump said.

The US president also highlighted his desire for a free and open Indo-Pacific region at the APEC CEO Summit.

"The US has been an active partner in the Asia-Pacific since it first won independence," he said. “We have been friends, partners, and allies in the Indo-Pacific for a long, long time and we will be friends, partners, and allies for a long time to come."

Yesterday, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released the findings of the 2017 APEC CEO Survey ASEAN.

“Confidence levels are high among business leaders in Vietnam. This is not surprising. Close to half of foreign investors in Vietnam (47 per cent) plan to increase their investment capital in the country over the next 12 months,” said PwC Vietnam’s general director Dinh Thi Quynh Van.

“Positive sentiments can be seen in three areas: an expanding the domestic economy, expectations of new growth from trade agreements and export expansion (both regional and intra-regional export growth), along with a positive outlook on innovation in key sectors of opportunity. Sustained economic reform, coupled with a strengthening of public institutions and an emphasis on education and skills development will be crucial to make Vietnam fit for the future,” Van said.

In the fall of 2017, PwC published three reports analysing prospects for business growth in Vietnam. The firm affirmed in these reports that prospects for revenue growth in 2018 are strong. Some 92 per cent of CEOs in Vietnam are confident in growth for their business over the next 12 months, with 38 per cent being “very confident.”

A net 62 per cent of CEOs in Vietnam will increase investments in 2018, higher than the APEC average of 50 per cent.

About 47 per cent of foreign investors in Vietnam plan to increase investment in the country over the next 12 months. Vietnam is among the top four economies, including China, Indonesia, and the US, where at least 40 per cent of foreign CEOs plan to raise spending.