Vietnam climbs to 10th on emerging global markets index

Vietnam has been ranked 10th out of the world's top emerging markets in 2023 with regards to overall competitiveness by Agility, a global leader in supply chain services, infrastructure and innovation.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam is behind Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, but ahead of the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia. China and India were first and second in the overall rankings.

Vietnam ranked 11th in 2022. The index ranks countries for overall competitiveness based on their logistics strengths, business climates and digital readiness, factors that make them attractive to logistics providers, freight forwarders, air and ocean carriers, distributors and investors.

According to Agility, nearly 70% of global logistics executives say they are bracing for a recession amid higher costs, slowing demand, and ongoing supply chain disruption arising from China’s battle to contain Covid-19, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the impact of climate change.

Ninety percent of the 750 industry professionals surveyed for the 2023 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index also said their shipping, storage and other logistics costs remain well above pre-pandemic levels of early 2020.

“Carriers and shippers are feeling the effects of higher energy prices, tight labor markets and broader inflation even though freight rates have fallen and ports have cleared cargo backlogs,” said Agility vice chairman Tarek Sultan.

“Three years after the start of the pandemic, there is still a lot of volatility in supply chains. Now there’s fresh uncertainty as consumers and businesses pull back on spending and hiring," he added.

In mid-March, the World Bank said that Vietnam’s economic expansion might ease to 6.3% in 2023 from a robust 8% last year, reflecting domestic and external headwinds.

"Vietnam has the fiscal space to implement measures to boost growth, unlike many other countries," said Carolyn Turk, World Bank country director for Vietnam.

"Effective implementation of priority public investments is key to support growth, both in the short-term and in the longer term. Also, fiscal and monetary policies must be synchronized to ensure that support to the economy and macroeconomic stability are achieved effectively," she added.