Viet Nam has moved up three notches to rank eighth in the global index of emerging logistics markets in 2021, according to Agility.

Agility, the leading logistics company, said that 19.2% of respondents considered the Southeast Asian nation as a manufacturing destination to ease dependence on Chinese production, rising costs and the Covid-19 crisis.

Viet Nam was seen as one of the most successful countries in containing the Covid-19 pandemic in which less than 1,500 cases were recorded in 2020. The international monetary fund (IMF) revised the country’s growth rate to 2.4%, among the highest in the world from its previous forecast of 1.6%. 

The firm ranked 50 economies based on three factors that make them attractive to logistics providers namely freight forwarders, shipping lines, air cargo carriers, and distributors: domestic logistics opportunities, international logistics opportunities and business fundamentals.

China remained the world's leading emerging logistics market followed by India. Qatar and Turkey followed Viet Nam to rank the ninth and tenth positions. Out of ASEAN member states, Indonesia and Malaysia did better than Viet Nam in the ranking by occupying higher positions at third and fifth, respectively. Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia followed Viet Nam at 11th, 21st, and 41st places.

Viet Nam houses about 30,000 logistics companies including 4,000 foreign ones, according to the Viet Nam Logistics Business Association. 

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung signed a decision on amendments and supplements to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 200/QD-TTg dated February 14, 2017 approving an action plan to improve the competitiveness and development of Viet Nam’s logistics industry to 2025. Specifically, the plan aims to raise the share of logistics services in the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 5-6% by 2025./.