Vietnams economy :: essays research papers

The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho khi MINH, who took control of the North. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were indrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South. Despite the return of peace, for over two decades the country experience little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities digest committed to economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the miserliness and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The country continues to experience protests from the Montagnard ethnic minority population of the Central Highlands over loss of land to Vietnamese settlers and religious persecution.Vietnam is a densely-populated, growth country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. secure progress was achieved from 1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of development and significantly reducing poverty. Growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asiatic financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress towards a market oriented economy. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 pilot to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 7% in 2000-04 even against the background of global recession. Since 2001, however, Vietnamese authorities take hold reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved t o implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. However, equitization of state-owned enterprises and reduction in the proportion of non-performing loans has fallen behind schedule. Vietnams membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade in December 2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnams trade and economic regime.