The US independent management consultancy Asia Perspective has published a report on the Vietnamese economy, which highlighted that in the fourth quarter of 2020, Vietnam posted rapid growth thanks to the recovery of manufacturing.

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 51.3 in January, down from 51.7 in December, to signal a softer improvement in business conditions at the start of 2021.

Foreign enterprises poured a considerable amount of capital into manufacturing and processing projects in the first half of January, according to the head of the investment office at the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza), Tran Viet Ha.

Despite being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese manufacturers in Vietnam have officially returned to production and recruitment since the fourth quarter of last year, according to a report released by recruitment services provider Navigos Search earlier this week.

FPT Software said on January 20 that it had recently set up its first international production centre in Costa Rica, in the capital San Jose.

VOV.VN - Joseph Incalcaterra, chief economist for ASEAN at the HSBC Global Research has hailed Vietnam’s handling of the virus, as saying that its response to the pandemic allowed the country to maintain its reputation as a “very good destination” for foreign direct investment.

The COVID-19 situation has considerably sped up the transition of manufacturing work into Vietnam and the country is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this move, said an article recently published on SeekingAlpha content service.

VOV.VN - As many as 200 people have registered to participate in clinical trials for the locally-produced Nanocovax vaccine, with screening underway to select 60 people aged between 18 and 50 for the first phase, said Nguyen Ngo Quang, deputy director of the Department of Science, Technology and Training under the Ministry of Health on December 16.

VOV.VN - Singaporean website futureiot.tech has recently published an article that highlights how over the past 15 years Vietnam has emerged as a strong manufacturing hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

Truong Hai Auto Joint Stock Company (Thaco), and French automotive manufacturer Peugeot recently announced their strategic cooperation in motorcycle manufacturing for domestic distribution and export.