The firm’s “Survive and Prosper: emerging markets in the global recession” report ranked Vietnam first for the second year in a row, above the United Arab Emirates and Mexico. Half of the top ten markets are in Asia, the firm said in a statement released Thursday (17 Sep 2009).

 

The list does not include the BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India and China. Vietnam’s GDP has been doubling every 10 years since 1986 and its people’s income levels have increased ten-fold since 1986, the statement said.

 

“Many emerging markets are outperforming developed economies and are expected to grow strongly for years to come,” UK Secretary of State Lord Mandelson said when revealing the findings of the report Thursday, according to the statement.

 

“The global recession was a wake-up call for companies to diversify their export base and seek out new opportunities in the emerging world,” Mandelson said. “We are encouraging UK business to look abroad and find new business in these exciting new markets.”

 

The report was based on a global survey of more than 540 high level business executives from across 19 business sectors. Overall, China was cited as the preferred investment destination over the next year and beyond by 45 percent of the respondents, followed by India with 43 percent.

 

UK Trade & Investment is a government organization that advises UK-based companies on investing abroad. The UK is Vietnam’s third largest investor in the EU, after France and the Netherlands, with 109 projects with a registered value of USD2.04 billion.