However, there remains much to be done to take full advantage of trends in the evolving app economy to ensure it develops into a solid contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a recent report by the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI). The app economy has evolved far beyond the social media and games found in app marketplaces. Today, every industry benefits from enterprise or consumer-facing mobile software components. As such, the app economy is a firm impetus for industry 4.0. Chief economic strategist at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) Dr Michael Mandel said, “When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007 that initiated a profound and transformative new economic innovation. While central bankers and national leaders struggled with a deep financial crisis and stagnation, the fervent demand for iPhones and the wave of smartphones that followed, was a rare force for growth.” Vietnam fosters a nascent tech sector, which includes mobile app development, and the country is home to a diverse app economy, encompassing several domains of industry. Digital technologies have emerged as an important export and a catalyst for growth in the Vietnamese economy, with high-tech products contributing 28.7% to Vietnam’s GDP in 2013. According to the World Bank (WB), Vietnam exported US$38.7 billion worth of high-tech products in 2015, a near tenfold rise on the figures in 2010. Come 2020, it is estimated that high-tech products and applications will account for 45% of Vietnam’s GDP. Over the past decade, Vietnam has taken important steps to realise technological… [Read full story]
The Thai economy is starting to pick up and consumer confidence is improving thanks to clear political directions since the political situation in Thailand has returned to normal. According to the Bank of Thailand, the national economy dropped to a low point in the second quarter and is now gradually recovering. Apart from clear political directions, economic stimulation measures have boosted domestic spending. As a result, the Thai economy in the second half of 2014 is likely to grow, and this should improve the confidence of the general public and investors. Meanwhile, Head of the National Council for Peace and…... [read more]
The Federal Labour Agency in Nuremberg calculated that the German jobless total fell by 89,400 to 3.995 million in November in raw or unadjusted terms, bringing the jobless rate down to 9.6 percent from 9.8 percent a month earlier. It was the first time since October 2002 that the jobless total has been lower than four million. And both the jobless total and the jobless rate were similarly at their lowest levels since October 2002. Labour office chief Frank-Juergen Weise attributed the favourable development not only to the ongoing economic upturn, but also to the mild weather. "Thanks to the…... [read more]
Vietnam's debt is rising rapidly, and the country has to set aside more money from its national state budget for debt repayment, said Vietnam's Prime Minister in a recent meeting of the National Assembly (NA) that aired on Monday. Accordingly, the current ratio of money sourced from the state budget for debt repayments from government borrowing is equivalent to 14.2 percent of the total budget, still within the allowable limit of 25 percent on public debt management strategy, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. However, if one includes all of the money the government has borrowed for debt swapping and…... [read more]
(WTO) focused on four major trends that have altered the relationship between trade and development in its latest report released on Monday, shedding light on resulting opportunities and challenges for developing economies. The flagship report titled as World Trade Report 2014 identified these four trends as the economic rise of developing economies, growing integration of global production through supply chains, the higher prices of commodities and the increasing interdependence of the world economy. Since 2000, GDP per capita of developing economies has grown by 4.7 percent, and the share of these economies in global trade rose from 33 percent to…... [read more]
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow December 18, 2014. Photo credit: Reuters President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia's economy would inevitably rebound after the rouble's dramatic slide this year but offered no remedy to a deepening financial crisis. Under pressure to show he has a plan to fix the economy, Putin told an end-of-year news conference the actions of the central bank and government had been "adequate" in a crisis he blamed on external factors. But hinting at internal divisions, he said more measures were needed and the central bank should have…... [read more]
