Good morning, Vietnam

EMERGING MARKETS

Investors in Vietnam have experienced some ups and downs in recent years, but the country may be getting to grips with its volatile economic past

Vietnam has been a roller-coaster ride for investors in recent years. The country attracted record foreign investment in 2007, which created a speculative boom and significant over-capacity in the economy, but the crash, when it came, was savage, with stock markets down more than 80% from peak to trough. Prior to 2008, Vietnam had been averaging 7%-plus annual growth since 1991. Even for 2009, it was expected to deliver 4.6% growth – not as high as China, but still stronger than much of the rest of Asia. Its exports have proved surprisingly resilient – seeing single-digit falls – which m...