Vietnam business community seeks reform
Vietnam is making headway in creating a more level playing field for foreign investors, but more reform must take place in order for competition to flourish, business leaders said Monday. Business leaders met with government officials and international development aid donors for the Vietnam Business Forum, which precedes the annual Consultative Group meeting in which donors pledge assistance to the communist country.
They called on Vietnam to work harder to stamp out widespread corruption and to continue moving forward with reform of tax and legal codes to open up more opportunities for private foreign businesses. "We all know by now that private investment is investment for all," said Klaus Rohland, World Bank country representative. "Meetings such as ours today are not turning points on Vietnam's reform path, they are milestones that should make all of us aware of where to go but also what we have achieved over the last year."
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan acknowledged that the country still lags behind in some areas but said it had increased growth by 7.6 percent over 2003 and that foreign direct investment grew by 35 percent and the number of poor households decreased from 12 percent in 2003 to 9 percent this year. Targeted areas of improvement include increasing transparency and cracking down on rampant corruption as well as making the legal system less cumbersome for foreign investors to do business in Vietnam.
The meeting comes as Vietnam pushes to join the World Trade Organization by the end of 2005. Last year, international donors pledged US$2.8 billion (euro2.12 billion) in development assistance to Vietnam, an amount that is expected to remain roughly the same when this year's commitments are announced later this week.
The Associated Press - November 29, 2004
Foreign investors in Vietnam call for transparency, level playing-field
HANOI - Vietnam's foreign investment community has called on the communist government to improve transparency, enforce the rule of law and ensure a level playing-field for all investors.
"A stable, predictable and non-discriminatory investment environment, including tariff policy, is vital if Vietnam is to send a positive message to current and potential foreign investors," the Australian Chamber of Commerce said in a statement. Its call was made at the World Bank organized Vietnam Business Forum of private investors ahead of Wednesday's opening of the annual conference of Vietnam's foreign donor community.
While noting improvements in the investment climate, the Japanese Business Association said "troublesome and complicated administrative procedures", low quality infrastructure and haphazard law enforcement remained "negative areas". "We would like to ask for the Vietnamese government's continued cooperation to further improve the investment climate to attract more FDI (foreign direct investment) from Japan," the association said in a statement. Japan is the third largest investor in the country but ties were strained in 2002 after Hanoi slashed import quotas on motorcycle parts for Japanese manufacturers Honda and Yamaha.
The European Chamber of Commerce highlighted the "insufficiency of adequate infrastructure", a major concern for current and potential investors.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, criticised weak enforcement of intellectual property rights, which it said "continues to leave aggrieved parties with little hope of obtaining an appropriate remedy" in court. Australian businesses in Vietnam warned that failure to address the foreign investment community's concerns could discourage future investors. "AusCham regards the need for greater transparency, stability, predictability and a 'level playing-field for all' as issues which arise time and time again for the very reason that they are critical to creating an environment which will attract and support good quality foreign investment. "Lack of constant attention and adherence to these principles often has a clear and direct negative impact on foreign investment in Vietnam," the Australian Chamber of Commerce said.
Agence France Presse - November 28, 2004
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