Building up towards growth: Vietnam's infrastructure boom makes it a standout frontier market

New projects put country in good stead with investors

Vietnam ended 2020 as one of the best performing economies globally with 2.9% growth. Covid-19 containment, as well as government and central bank measures, seem to have worked. But the impact will linger even though the IMF predicts 2021 GDP growth of 6.4%.

In late January, the Communist Party Congress will decide the leadership and policies for the next five years. Subtle adjustments can herald significant changes in the levers of power, but stability and continuity come above all else. Vontobel launches global listed infrastructure fund The Biden administration and the accusation of Vietnam as a currency manipulator will need watching as Vietnam triggered important Treasury Department criteria: a bilateral trade surplus, current account surplus and one-sided FX intervention. FX reserves at the end of 2020 stood at $100bn, an all-time h...