Vietnam Needs to Encourage an Improved Culture

This is the affirmation by Dr Matthias Dühn, Executive Director of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), at the official launch of EuroCham’s Whitebook 2011 of Trade/Investment Issues & Recommendations in Hanoi. This is the third edition the Whitebook was issued., Executive Director of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), at the official launch of EuroCham’s Whitebook 2011 of Trade/Investment Issues & Recommendations in Hanoi. This is the third edition the Whitebook was issued.

 

Like the previous editions, the Whitebook 2011 aims to summarise key issues affecting the business climate for European businesses in Vietnam. The Whitebook 2011 is sector-specific and covers the major industries EuroCham’s more than 700 member companies are operating in like pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods, energy, telecom, automotive, tourism and banking.

 

EuroCham summarised the main issues affecting European businesses operating in Vietnam for the government to focus on the fundamental constraints to Vietnam’s competitiveness: That meant opening up the telecoms, energy, pharmaceutical and retail industries to foreign competition. It also meant equitising state-owned enterprises, and tackling bureaucracy and corruption affecting many of our European businesses.

 

This year, the White Book 2011 has added two more distribution recommendations on cooperation in public - private and nutritious foods.

 

The Whitebook 2011 indicates that Vietnam has made progress in improving the legal framework and upgrading the infrastructure. However, EuroCham’s member companies have also experienced troubling delays and difficulties in the licensing of investment projects and the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Regarding administrative reform, the Whitebook 2011 acknowledges progress, but also notes that troubling new administrative burdens have been decided in 2010, from new rules on automatic import licensing to price stabilisation measures. The Whitebook 2011 once more encourages the government to focus on the core structural issues to increase productivity and competitiveness in the medium and long-term.

 

Alain Cany, Chairman of EuroCham, said: “We believe that now is the time for the government to focus on the fundamental constraints to Vietnam’s competitiveness: That means improving the quality of the workforce, upgrading infrastructure, supplying energy, encouraging public private partnership, and promoting legal and administrative reforms. That means continuing administrative reform as a matter of priority and pushing the equitizing of the state-owned enterprises”.

 

“However, Vietnam needs to further modernise roads, seaports, power plants and other infrastructure to sustain economic development in a longer period. Vietnam also needs to encourage an improved culture to encourage creativity and new ideas to add value to its economy,” said Dr Matthias Dühn.

 

Dr Matthias Dühn added, "Without such changes, Vietnam will face the risk of falling into the middle-income trap, cannot become a production focusing on added values and initiatives for domestic consumption and export from a economy basing on low-paid labour and low-tech production methods.”