A study on the place, present, and future, of Vietnam on the

international stage.

Vietnam is a country endowed with a rich, but unfortunately sometimes

painful, history. Vietnam has continuously developed in the past twenty
years and even if the country remains poor in many aspects, the number of
Vietnamese belonging to the middle classes and wealthy individuals keeps
rising fast.

 Strong military power

The military history of Vietnam really began only when French Indochina
was invaded by Japan. Since then, Vietnam has emerged victorious from
many conflicts against great powers such as Japan, France and of course the
United States. According to various international rankings, Vietnam now
ranks as the world’s 16th military power. The Vietnamese army employs
nearly 500,000 full-time people. The Vietnamese army has nearly 300
aircrafts, more than 1,500 tanks, and 65 warships. Russia plays a major role
in strengthening the defensive capacity of Vietnam, including modern
armaments and training, as recently retired Colonel-General Truong Quang
Khanh recently declared in Russian newspapers.

 A demographic power

Even though on a very different scale from its neighboring Chinese giant,
Vietnam is also a demographic power. Vietnam, with a total population of
nearly 95 million, is indeed the 13th most populous country in the world.
Three-quarters of its population is Buddhist and the fertility index, which
was still six children per woman in the 70, is now close to the magical
replacement fertility rate of two children per woman. The country's
population projection for 2050 is about 115 million. Vietnam will have to
deal with a relatively rapid aging population but this will be far less brutal
than for many other countries including China.

 An emerging economic power

According to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers called “the World

in 2050: Will the shift in global economic power continue?” Vietnam’s
economy is likely to become the 20th largest economy in the world in 2050
with a purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP of $ 3.176 billion. In terms of
economic growth, Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh would be the fastest
growing economies by 2050 - averaging 5% per year. Vietnam is also
already home to many large companies. Among these firms
are PetroVietnam (Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group), Samsung
Electronics Vietnam, the military telecommunications group Viettel and
the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN). Among the most prestigious listed
companies in Vietnam are the Vietnam dairy company (Vinamilk), the
Vingroup group, the insurer Bao Viet, the Vietnamese group of information
technology FPT, the group Hoa Phat.

 A booming stock market

The Vietnamese stock market has experienced spectacular growth in recent

years. This incredible development is reminiscent of the one Brazil
experienced a few decades ago. Duc Anh, a portfolio manager at Anh
Thomas Investment, a financial advisory firm specializing in the
Vietnamese stock market, confirms this enthusiasm "we are getting more
and more requests from wealthy Western investors wishing to invest large
sums in the Vietnamese stock market. New investors are attracted by the
prospect of significant gains. It is our responsibility, however, to warn them
about the risks associated with equity markets especially when it comes to
a frontier market such as Vietnam. Currency risks is a good example of a
type of risk that some international investors completely ignore. " The
Chairman of the State Committee of the Vietnam Stock Exchange, Vu Bang
agrees: "The current country's economic context is favorable to the stock
market. The country is accelerating the restructuring of its economy and I
think that the Vietnamese stock market will continue its momentum. " ·

 Other aspects

The cherry on the cake? Vietnam ranks 5th among the happiest countries in
the world and 1st in Asia, according to the 2016 Global Happiness Index
(HPI - HappyPlanet Index), released by the New Economics Foundation
(NAVE).

SOURCES :

http://www.lecourrier.vn/vietnam-le-5e-pays-le-plus-heureux-au-
monde/310612.html

https://lecourrier.vn/selon-pwc-le-vietnam-serait-en-2050-la-20e-
puissance-economique-mondiale/371295.html
https://fr.vietnamplus.vn/classement-du-top-10-des-societes-cotees-en-
bourse-les-plus-prestigieuses-du-vietnam/81821.vnp

https://www.anhthomas.com/investir-au-vietnam

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/dossiers-pays/vietnam/presentation-du-
vietnam/

https://www.populationpyramid.net/viet-nam/2050/

https://investinvietnamesestockmarkets.blogspot.co.uk

https://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-
detail.asp?country_id=vietnam

https://fr.sputniknews.com/international/201703041030327959-russie-
aide-vietnam-armee-defense-general-ordre/

https://www.msn.com/fr-fr/actualite/monde/les-40-plus-grosses-
puissances-militaires-de-2016/ar-BBpwMbX#page=5

https://investinvietnamesestocks.wordpress.com