REPLAY Report on Vietnamese economy 30 years after end of war

Ho Chi Minh City - 24 March, 2005 1. Vietnam's paddy fields 2. Coconut trees and buffalo 3. Vietnamese farmer spraying fertiliser onto paddy fields 4. High-rise buildings in Ho Chi Minh City under construction 5. High-rise buildings in Ho Chi Minh city under construction 6. Container loading cargo from ship at Ho Chi Minh City port 7. Phong Phu Garment and Textile Company 8. Pan workers using sewing machine to make clothes inside the factory 9. Workers cutting material 10. Workers sewing 11. Workers checking clothes 12. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) Nguyen Thanh Hien, Textile Worker: "Our country is in the period of industrialisation and modernisation. As a worker, I will try my best for the sector's development." 13. Pan of workers cutting material 14. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) Pham Xuan Lap Vice-General Director of Phong Phu textile company: "We can do business with all (WTO) member countries and vice versa, therefore, the competition will be very tough. We have prepared for such competition during the past 5 to 7 years. We have prepared all conditions for the joining such as better management, lower costs, competitive products, exceptional service and quality of products up to customers' requirements." 15. Ho Chi Minh City officials in press conference 16. Pan down from bust of Ho Chi Minh to officials 17. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) Tran Du Lich, director of the Economy Institute of HCM: "The reality shows us that, after 3 years of BTA (United States-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement) implementation and AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) membership, we have gained lot successes and we can confirm that we would succeed if we become a member of the World Trade Organisation." 18. Various of Information Technology expert working in front of computers 19. International Monetary Fund sign 20. Suzanne Adams Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Vietnam 21. SOUNDBITE: (English) Suzanne Adams Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF), Vietnam: "There are some remaining challenges for private sector development to carry on. In our minds, of course, paramount is the whole idea financial sector reform as providing the right institutional undergirding for private sector business to really flourish here". 22. Vinamilk factory and people visiting 23. Workers working on assembly line producing canned milk 24. Close-up of workers hands checking cans of milk 25. Various of workers on assembly line producing ice-cream STORYLINE: Thirty years after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam is rapidly becoming an economic force. Left devastated by the US invasion and the ensuing war of liberation, the country was then punished by years of post-war isolation and extreme poverty. It began opening up its economy to the world in the mid-1980s. Since then, young people have gone from rice fields to universities to push Vietnam onto the international stage. Private enterprise, a youthful majority and increasing ties with the overseas Vietnamese community are helping fuel a rapid march toward prosperity. With a 7.7 percent growth rate, second in Asia after China, it seems an economic powerhouse is in the making. The country's initial boost in embracing economic reforms, known as "doi moi," in 1986 has given way to a second wave of growth brought on by surging domestic growth and new markets abroad. Their former enemy, the US, has been an especially important market after the historic trade pact in 2001. About six billion (b) US dollars in exports went to the US market alone. Nowhere is the country's acceleration more apparent than amid the frenetic energy of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the economic engine for Vietnam's growth. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/349246b81a855243dbf2584619666169 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork