Under the title “Vietnam’s place in the Asian Century”, the newspaper wrote that a war-ravaged and impoverished country just a few decades ago, Vietnam is associated with humming factories, a swelling middle-class, and its emergence as the new export wonderchild of Asia. Apart from a brief period of economic distress and financial volatility experienced from 2009 to 2012, the country has been a development posterchild with sustained gross domestic product (GDP) growth of approximately 6 per cent a year, and is now knocking on the doors of the middle-income club of economies. With a per capita GDP of around US$2,200, the Vietnamese are starting to experience a sustained consumption boom as disposable income is now large enough to kickstart a surge in discretionary spending on everything ranging from entertainment to cars and holidays. The newspaper wrote that with a highly strategic location, a young population of nearly 100 million, a highly literate and numerate workforce, a vibrant consumer class with a demonstrated taste for adoption of new technology, Vietnam is likely to continue its pole-vault towards developed country status. As the country’s economy starts to matter in the region, so will its geopolitical significance.