Let’s put the major negative to the Vietnam story out on the table. Like China, it has an authoritarian, communist government and all the negatives that come with it. Fortunately, investors have the flexibility to sidestep the country’s state-owned enterprises and focus on smaller private companies that are on a high-growth trajectory.

The list of Vietnam’s positives is really quite impressive. Here are just a few for starters: a low level of capital stock — so every dollar of investment yields big jumps in productivity; attractive demographics to fuel consumption; talented, well-educated and ambitious people with a great faith in their future; low real wages for a decisive competitive advantage; tremendous opportunities for market reforms to unlock blocked potential; and low valuations and rising, robust foreign investment to drive its industry and stock market forward.