The Land of the Rising Star

This post might be a little boring or somewhat similar to some of my previous posts. But the intention of this post is just to highlight while keeping abreast of the latest development in South East Asia's economy. While it is undoubted that Singapore is the fastest growing economy the region, another country which has kept investors worldwide scrutinizing its economic pace is Vietnam. With its current GDP moving at around 7%, that means this once agricultural economy which relies heavily on rice cultivation, would be one of the most developed in SEA in the next 10 to 15 years. It is already one of the fastest developing economy in the world, and with its current economic leberalisation, Vietnam's economy could reach up to 70% of UK's economy by 2025, given the potential GDP growing at a rate of about 10% per annum.

So here are some info that amazed me on how the country is transforming to a modern asian city in full gear of moving into the globalised world; the population is growing by a million each year, the country's middle class is growing fast and those living below the poverty line is rapidly declining - overtaking The Philippines and India, the literacy rate is about 93% up till 2008, small cities are expanding rapidly, new international airport is being constructed, multinationals beginning to invest - bringing in manufacturing, IT and high-tech industries on the rise and stock market chart just goes up and up (ok that's just a little exaggeration). Nontheless, doesnt that sound impressive enough for a country who suffered from the famous Vietnam War and French collonialisation? You be the judge.

So what's the big deal for Malaysia? The question is now can Malaysia get the slice of pie in the challenging global economy, given this kind of emerging countries are closing their gap with developed nations. Malaysia's GDPs have been quite daunting for the past few years, at 5% growth, we are no where near to become a fully developed nation by 2020. However, step up measures are already in place to drive the nation forward and join the ranks of developed nations. But most Malaysian are very well educated now, a blueprint is just an empty promise until real works are being executed and well drawn policies are adhered to. But then again, its the results that the rakyat of Malaysia would like to see, in which how we could benefit from the planning.

Undeniably, globalisation is something which the whole world must embrace, like it or not. Europe and America are matured and well developed economies, the rising stars now lie in Asia, where the new land of opportunities reside. It is a pleasure to see how each region in Asia, given its enormous size with different cultures and religions, are synchronising and competing uniquely to be on par with developed nations, if not better.