Vietnam’s competitiveness ranking jumped 12 places and its innovation index soared 19 spots, according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Global Innovation Index 2015 (GII 2015) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The WEF report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 140 economies, providing insights into drivers of productivity and prosperity.
Vietnam landed in 56th place compared to 68th last year, progressing for the third consecutive year, according to a news report by VGP News, the country’s online government portal.
“The new index reflects the dynamism of the Southeast Asian region, where all five largest ASEAN members—Malaysia (18th), Thailand (32nd), Indonesia (37th), the Philippines (47th) and Viet Nam—all rank in the top half of the Global Competitiveness Index,” it added.
Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh on October 1 said the global index outcome derived from policy reforms covering the macroeconomy, primary education and health, institutions, and infrastructure.
He added that the national economy grew faster than earlier forecast, averaging 6.5% over the past nine months, the highest figure since 2011.
The introduction of new laws spurred business environment improvement, he continued. Between 2014 and 2015, the government issued two resolutions to enhance the business environment and national competitiveness based on approaches proposed by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, noted Vinh.
He added that the fresh ranking validated the government’s efforts in administrative procedure and competitiveness reform and its determination to grow the economy by accepting the challenge of competition and participating in a number of free trade agreements.
Global innovation scorecard improves
Meanwhile, out of 141 countries and territories surveyed, Vietnam jumped 19 places to 52nd in the Global Innovation Index from 71st in 2014 and came in third in the Southeast Asia and Oceania region after Singapore and Malaysia, according to the latest report conducted by the WIPO.
The GII 2015 named Vietnam as one of six innovation achievers in the region besides China, Mongolia, Malaysia, Cambodia (a new addition), and Thailand, according to a VGP news release.
According to the index, Vietnam’s performance has been consistently high in the areas of infrastructure development, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.
However, the nation performed poorly in all the dimensions of the institutions pillar. It is also facing hurdles in its investment environment as well as in trade and competition in terms of market sophistication.
The GII 2015 survey acknowledged the role of the new Law on Science and Technology, which focuses on three pillars—investment models, financial mechanisms, and training of scientific and technological personnel—for the improved scorecard.
In particular, the new regulation led to the rapid release of scientific and technological products, said the VGP release. Vietnam has since posted over 2,600 articles in famous journals on science, and produced world-class vaccine products as well as manufacturing machinery including weightlifting equipment, drilling platforms, missile cutters, and large vessels.
Photo courtesy of VGP News
