Vietnam reaps diaspora windfall
Vietnam's recent history has been turbulent,
characterised by wars and political change.
The past 50 years have seen many Vietnamese
leave the country to begin new lives in
America, Australia and Europe.
But some of the descendents of this diaspora
have now returned to Vietnam and have
brought fresh business ideas with them.
Although they have had a mixed welcome.
Dramatic return
Two hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City is Long
Hai, the former summer home of the last
Vietnamese emperor.
It is now a holiday village owned by Anoa
Dussol Perran, a French Vietnamese who left
the country in 1961 with the departing colonial
power.
Thirty years later, she
made a dramatic
return.
Piloting her own
helicopter she flew
from Paris, over 22
countries, before
landing in the
Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
The authorities seemed less than
impressed.
They were also suspicious about to her
plans to start a helicopter piloting
business.
Ms Perran said she came back to Vietnam
with her own helicopters because she is a
trained pilot and she thought she could
use this skill to help her home country.
Coffee opportunities
Coffee house owner David Thai is opening
a flagship cafe in Ho Chi Minh City.
He is a Vietnamese American from
Seattle, but has been in Vietnam for eight
years.
He first came back as
a student, but soon
realised there were
business opportunities
and he could utilise his
experiences in
America to exploit
them.
"What you know and
what you've been exposed to, you can
bring that back to Vietnam," he said.
"I saw some business opportunities for
example in coffee.
"Coffee was something that I wanted to
improve in Vietnam and so I came back
to start a coffee business."
Changing attitudes
After initial suspicions returning
Vietnamese - or Viet Kieu - are now being
accepted by many in the country.
They bring money, outside ideas and an
understanding of the Vietnamese way of
doing things.
Factors increasingly recognised by the
Vietnamese government.
Tran Si Choung of US investment
consultants James Riedel Associates said
there were many untapped opportunities.
"In the past two years we've seen a
remarkable change in attitude on the part
of the Vietnamese government about the
need to assimilate the towns, the
resources, of the overseas Vietnamese,"
he said.
"But I still feel that we haven't even
scratched the surface."
Changing Vietnam
Yet for many Viet Kieu it has been a
struggle.
Anoa Dussol Perran ended her helicopter
business and now runs a successful beach
resort.
She said you have to have patience and
need to understand the mentality of
Vietnam to succeed.
Returning Vietnamese may not have the
financial power of multinational
corporations but they do offer something
different - cultural understanding and
enthusiasm that are already changing
Vietnam.
By Oliver Woods - BBC World Service - December 03, 2002.
|