Climate in Vietnam begins to stabilise
Vietnam now offers good opportunities for Thai investors after years of
soul-searching by both foreign investors and the Vietnamese government has
brought a more transparent and predictable business climate, according to a
long-time resident of Ho Chi Minh City.
Walter Blocker, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Vietnam's
southern economic hub, said that in many ways the Thai and Vietnamese economies
were complementary, and that Thai entrepreneurs had a unique understanding of
emerging and developing markets such as Vietnam.
Thai investors should take advantage of the good relations between the two
countries and the more stable and open Vietnamese leadership, Mr Blocker said at a
seminar co-organised by the Thai Board of Investment and Foreign Ministry and the
Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of Vietnam last week.
The climate, he said, had gradually shifted from irrationality and exuberance ten years
ago from foreign investors who were not realistic about the country that had just
opened up to foreign investors to a soul-searching period in which investors
weighed whether to pack up while the socialist government had to ask themselves if,
and at what speed, they wanted to pursue economic reforms.
Now, despite all the difficult challenges in the country, there are a lot of changes
taking place in line with Asia's recovery from its 1998 crisis, leading to more
foreign-direct investment, export growth and rising per capita income, he said.
Mr Blocker did concede that the Vietnamese bureaucracy was daunting. But he said
it was now listening more to investors' problems and was more readily implementing
remedial measures.
He said the tax law and labour codes were becoming more transparent and it was now
easier to predict market trends.
Nguyen Thien Nhan, standing vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's
Committee, said the Vietnamese economy was set for annual growth of more than 7%
(US$35 billion last year), balanced development across rural and urban areas, heavy
investment in infrastructure and the emergence of high-technology development.
Export growth in the first five months was 31%. Last year, it increased 10%.
Thailand is the ninth largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with 110 projects totalling
$1.3 billion.
By Achara Ashayagachat - The Bangkok Post - August 04, 2003.
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