In a recent article released by Antony Shaw, CEO of HSBC Australia and New Zealand, and Tim Evans, CEO of HSBC Viet Nam, the Viet Nam-Australia corridor is considered to be one of the key partnerships in the region.

According to HSBC Global Research, Viet Nam is expected to become the fastest growing economy in ASEAN this year. In addition, the nation's digital economy has been the fastest growing in the region for the past two consecutive years, and is forecast to enjoy an 11-fold growth to reach US$220 billion in value, which will represent more than a third of the whole region.

Thanks to its young and tech-savvy population, Viet Nam is forecast to maintain this position next year, too.

Besides the favorable conditions mentioned above, HSBC specialists referred to the sheer number of free trade agreements (FTAs) that Viet Nam has signed. Viet Nam currently has 16 active FTAs with a wide variety of different economies and blocs across the world, with another three still under negotiation.

In a recent meeting between Viet Nam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Australian Senate President Sue Lines, both nations agreed to strengthen the economic partnership with a focus on reaching US$20 billion in bilateral trade turnover over the next three years.

Bilateral trade turnover reached US$13.8 billion in 2023, making Australia the 10th largest trading partner of Viet Nam, while Viet Nam ranked 7th among Australia's largest trading partners.

Beyond trade, foreign direct investment will be a critical lever in gaining commercial traction. According to Viet Nam' Ministry of Planning and Investment, Australia has so far invested about US$2 billion into Viet Nam with over 600 projects.

Viet Nam also had US$584 million worth of investments into Australia. Both countries have agreed to double bilateral investment over the next three years. This is certainly an area where Australia can add unique value.

In term of infrastructure investment, Viet Nam requires at least US$25-30 billion per year to invest in its infrastructure over the next 10 years, meaning approximately US$600 billion in total by 2040.

Furthermore, over US$200 billion is needed for a well-organized transportation system and public transport upgrade in major cities by 2030, as shared by Viet Nam's Ministry of Transport.

Meanwhile Australia's AU$3.9 trillion superannuation savings pool is faced with the tricky ongoing challenge of finding investments large enough to warrant capital deployment, and Southeast Asia's funding priorities of transport, renewable energy transition and data centers align well with their investment mandates, noted HSBC.

In a recent interview, Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Andrew Goledzinowski said, the bilateral relationship has developed quickly and substantively in recent years because Australia and Viet Nam are important for each other and complement each other.

Both economies are highly complementary, and trade and investment between our countries has grown at an impressive rate, creating many new jobs and opportunities, he emphasized.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son is paying a four-day working visit (October 16-19) to Australia to co-chair the 6th Viet Nam-Australia Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The occasion, he will attend the fourth Viet Nam-Australia Economic Partnership Meeting./.