Vietnam's rapid growth offers opportunities to the region

THE ROBUST GROWTH OF VIETNAM, against the backdrop of the sluggish world economy, has brought the Southeast Asian country global attention. Beijing News comments:

Vietnam's potential as a regional growth engine deserves attention. The World Bank predicts that Vietnam's gross domestic product will grow 6.8 percent this year, higher than its prediction of 6.5 percent in April.

Vietnam has a population of nearly 100 million, whose median age is 30, most of whom are concentrated in the region around the capital of Hanoi in the north and in the Mekong River Plain with Ho Chi Minh City as its center in the south. It has a working age population of 60 million, and statistics shows their literacy rate is 97 percent, with more than one-third having a high school education or above. The country's rich human resources, if well utilized, can generate huge productivity.