The economic transformation of Viet Nam over the past three decades has been almost unparalleled. Since the launch of Doi Moi (or "Renovation") policy in 1986, market-oriented structural reforms have paid off handsomely. Viet Nam was once one of the poorest countries in the world but is now a lower middle-income market economy. Tremendous socioeconomic progress has been achieved, poverty has been substantially reduced and a middle class is rapidly emerging. The pace of economic growth has been impressive, with a remarkable capacity of the Vietnamese economy to weather global storms. Viet Nam has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world, boasting an average growth of almost 7% over the past two decades. In many ways, Viet Nam is the envy of its neighbours, not only its growth performance, but also its ability to attract growing amounts of foreign direct investment and to sustain export growth in difficult times.