Vietnam

The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the Communist North and anti-Communist South. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South reuniting the country under Communist rule. Despite the return of peace, for over a decade the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies, the persecution and mass exodus of individuals - many of them successful South Vietnamese merchants - and growing international isolation. However, since the enactment of Vietnam's "doi moi" (renovation) policy in 1986, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The country continues to experience small-scale protests from various groups, the vast majority connected to land-use issues and the lack of equitable mechanisms for resolving disputes. Various ethnic minorities, such as the Montagnards of the Central Highlands and the Khmer Krom in the southern delta region, have also held protests.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: đồng (ISO code: VND)
 * Central bank discount rate: 6% (31 December 2009)
 * Commercial banks lending rate: 15.78% (31 December 2008)
 * Stock of money (M1): $25.52 billion (31 December 2008)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $63.63 billion (31 December 2008)

Notable events:

 * Banking crisis: 1997-?

Links

 * Vietnam on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of Vietnam
 * Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
 * Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
 * BBC country profile
 * The Socialist Calculation Debate Revisited: the Case Study of Vietnam (pdf) by Nguyen Manh Cuong, July 2004
 * Selling land for gold, not VND, VietNamNet, July 2008
 * Central Bank Snuffs Out Vietnam’s Thriving Gold Market by Kel Kelly, February 2013