Be nice to foreign investors, Vietnam magazine says
HANOI - A leading Vietnamese magazine published on Thursday
urged the country to be friendly to foreign
investors.
In a hard-hitting editorial, the weekly Thoi Bao
Kinh Te Saigon (Saigon Economic Times) said
any prejudice against foreign investment should
cease if Vietnam wanted to stem a steep
decline in overseas project approvals.
The magazine, which gave no examples of
prejudice against foreign investors, belongs to
the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, or
local government. The southern city, formerly
Saigon, is Vietnam's commercial capital.
``Related to the investment environment two big
obstacles have emerged, we think, and if they
are not overcome soon, it will be difficult to
reverse the slowdown in foreign investment,'' the
editorial said.
``They are firstly the unfriendly prejudice
directed at enterprises with foreign-invested
capital, which according to the law as well as in
practice are part of our economy.''
The second shortcoming was an incomplete
market economy and violations of common
international business practices, the magazine
added.
Highlighting the difficulty of putting money in
Vietnam, the Hong Kong-based Political and
Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) in April
said Vietnam was the nation that most
discriminated against foreign investment last
year.
PERC made the assessment in its 1998
Comparative Country Risk report from a survey
of 12 Asian countries.
Foreign businessmen based in Hanoi expressed
surprise at the magazine editorial but welcomed
it.
``I have not heard official press in Vietnam
making such statements in the past. Certainly
not as blunt as that,'' said one Hanoi-based
foreign banker who declined to be identified.
``This is very unusual,'' he said, adding it
indicated the government was seriously
concerned about falling investment.
Overseas investment approvals in the first four
months of 1998 were worth a mere $1.07
billion, from $5.1 billion in calendar 1997 and a
total $8.6 billion in 1996.
Foreign economists and businessmen have
urged the government to improve the business
environment and make it easier to operate in
Vietnam, especially with the country's main
investors from Asia under economic siege at
home.
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai met foreign
businessmen earlier this year and assured them
Hanoi was committed to economic reform.
But problems still persist, businessmen say.
Last month Coca-Cola denied a local
newspaper report that said the soft drinks giant
was running up big losses in Vietnam to force
its local partner out of the joint venture.
Local criticism of Coca-Cola followed a
high-profile dispute between Procter and
Gamble and its Vietnam partner, which also
centred on losses incurred by the venture.
Anthony Salzman, president of V-TRAC
Infrastructure Development Company in
Vietnam, expressed his frustration about the
difficulty for foreign investors in an article
published in the latest edition of the Vietnam
Business Journal.
``The Vietnamese people are justifiably proud
of their resilience in the face of attack, but they
haven't learned how to win in the new peaceful
environment so many suffered to create,''
Salzman wrote.
``Victory in peace requires concessions to
achieve mutual benefit in global business.''
V-Trac is the authorised dealer in Vietnam for
heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc.
By Dean Yates - REUTERS, June 11, 1998.
|