Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese economy has taken some advantage of integration but exposed many shortcomings in managing after 18 months in the World Trade Organisation, Director of Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) DinhVan An said at a seminar on August 1.

The seminar to evaluate some impacts on the domestic economy after its WTO accession in 2007 was organised in Hanoi by CIEM, part of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Speaking at the conference, Vo Tri Thanh, an official of CIEM, said: “A period of one and a half years is not long enough to evaluate and overview WTO’s influences on the conomy.”

“However, there are some lessons to be learned from accession to the world’s largest economic playground.”

Vietnam ’s commitments to integration and improvement of its market-economy mechanism are the most important factors for increasing economic reform and luring foreign investment, Thanh said.

He said Vietnam needed to take advantage of natural resources and cheap industrial labour forces.

According to a survey last year by the Japan External Trade Organisation, Vietnam ’s minimum monthly wage level was about 50 USD, significantly lower than India ’s 74 USD, Indonesia ’s 90 USD, the Philippines 135 USD, southern China ’s 92 USD and Thailand ’s 110 USD.

Thanh pointed out some weaknesses in the Vietnamese economy: poor labour capacity, the modest contribution of finance, banking and insurance to the country’s economic growth, less developed manufacturing and the slow growth of agricultural sector.

He said that inflation and the trade deficit, together with sensitive signals from domestic financial systems, are big problems Vietnam must face in the future.

Basically, WTO accession has directly and indirectly brought about desirable results. The difference between forecast numbers and results are partly due to the complex internal and external elements of the economy, An said.

Pham Chi Lan, an economic expert said everyone should update their knowledge on economic accession to give them a thorough grasp of the opportunities and challenges.