Vietnam's economic growth accelerated to the highest in a decade, as companies made more garments for export and rising incomes and an increase in foreign visitors spurred service industries.

Gross domestic product expanded 8.2 percent through the end of September from a year earlier, up from 7.8 percent in the same period in 2006, the General Statistics Office said in a statement in Hanoi. The figure is the highest three-quarter growth figure in a decade, the Statistics Office said, as Vietnam moves out of the ranks of the world's poorest nations.

"Vietnam is doing exceptionally well by any standard, and lower middle-income status by the end of this decade is entirely achievable," said Jonathan Pincus, Hanoi-based country economist for the United Nations Development Program. "The hard part is still to come, though. They have the beginnings of a dynamic, job-creating private sector, but they are still a long way from creating truly international companies that are globally competitive."

Vietnam is benefiting from its January accession to the World Trade Organization, which has freed it from U.S. textile quotas and led to a surge in overseas investment. Commitments by foreign companies to new projects may reach a record $14 billion in 2007, according to Vinacapital Investment Management Ltd.

Membership of the WTO "has accelerated economic growth," Andy Ho, managing director of Vinacapital, told a conference in Ho Chi Minh City. "Acceding to the WTO has helped boost foreign direct investment. Manufacturing is on the rise."

The industry and construction component of GDP, which accounts for about 42 percent of the Vietnamese economy, gained 10.2 percent from a year ago, as processing industries expanded 12.5 percent, the statement said.

Garments passed oil to become Vietnam's top export in the first three quarters, with shipments jumping 32 percent, the Statistics Office said recently. Vietnam is now among the world's top 10 garment exporters, VietnamNet reported.

Service-related industries, which make up 38 percent of the economy, expanded 8.5 percent from a year earlier, as the hotel and restaurant trade jumped 12.7 percent.

"GDP growth is excellent, leading to growth in almost all sectors," said Tran Luong Son, chief executive officer of VietSoftware, a Hanoi-based software outsourcing company. "Market optimism, enterprise investment and personal consumption will lead to higher IT demand."

International visitor arrivals rose 19 percent year-on-year through September, according to the Statistics Office, while retail sales are growing at an annual rate of about 24 percent, according to Standard Chartered Plc.

"Before, people in Vietnam who made money thought first about saving it for the future," said Le Quoc Vinh, chief executive of Le & Brothers, a Hanoi-based company which owns a restaurant and has invested in three fashion and lifestyle magazines. "Now people care more about their day-to-day life, and can spend more on services and comfort."

Agriculture, fisheries and forestry, which make up 20 percent of GDP, expanded 3 percent from a year earlier, led by a 9 percent increase in the fisheries component. Vietnam is the world's second-biggest exporter of both coffee and rice.

"Even with the shift of more Vietnamese people into cities, this is still a huge country for agriculture and will be for some time," said Arild Haugan, Ho Chi Minh City-based general director of the Vietnam unit of Norway's Yara International ASA, the world's largest fertilizer maker.

Inflation, which reached a year-on-year rate of 8.8 percent in September, poses a potential risk to the economy's "long- term balance," Standard Chartered said in a report, which noted the government is hoping to accelerate economic growth in 2008 past this year's 8.5 percent target.