FLASH NEWS
Vietnam from the poorest country in the world to a booming region
2025-05-01 19:42:48 / BOTA
On January 23, 1973, US President Richard Nixon addressed his fellow Americans and announced the end of the Vietnam War. At first, this meant only the withdrawal of American troops. Peace came two years later. The country was divided and devastated.
Years of extreme poverty followed, lasting into the 1990s, according to historian Reiner Zitelmann, who has studied Vietnamese history extensively. “In 1990, Vietnam was the poorest country in the world, even poorer than all the African countries.” The per capita gross domestic product was $98. That was less than in Sierra Leone or Somalia.
German company also in Vietnam
While 35 years ago the average annual income was $98, today it is around $5,000. It is not much, but it represents a huge step forward. The change began in 1986. The disastrous economic situation forced the government to launch an opening policy called "Doi Noi" ("renew"). This allowed foreign companies to enter the country.
Even German companies. Peter Buerstedde works for GTAI, an organization that advises German companies looking to invest in Vietnam. According to him, progress did not come until much later: "The significant inflow of foreign investment did not come until the country joined the World Trade Organization in 2007, and more recently, in 2018, there was a big boost from punitive tariffs on Chinese goods under the first Trump administration."
Towards climate neutrality
Is Vietnam now experiencing new growth, as it benefits again from the trade conflict between China and the US? The plans are ambitious: Vietnam aims to become an industrialized nation by 2045. And not only that, according to Buerstedde. Vietnam also aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, like many other countries around the world. But there is still a long way to go for an economy like Vietnam's, which still relies on coal for half of its electricity consumption.
Vietnam seems to want to outdo itself. By 2050, it also aims to become one of the world's leading players in the semiconductor industry. However, Dietmar Schwank of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi has doubts: "More than 40 foreign semiconductor companies have already invested in Vietnam, but Vietnam will need around 50,000 specialized semiconductor engineers by 2030 if it wants to maintain the planned pace of development."
Low-wage country with fast growth
DAX-listed Infineon, Germany's largest semiconductor manufacturer, also produces in Vietnam. Germany is well represented in Vietnam and has room for growth, according to GTAI expert Buerstedde: "Every year, between five and ten factories are added, so the development is relatively constant, but the largest investors are the Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese or Koreans." /DW
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