Many Vietnamese companies, specifically those in the state-owned sector, have been criticized over their slow preparations for global integration.
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) understand the pressure of global integration but remain slow in acting on it, according to experts.
The major reason behind the attitude is that SOEs enjoy privileges which will no longer exist or shall be minimized once the domestic market is fully opened.
Some companies are afraid of losing their market shares, Ambassador Ngo Quang Xuan, chief of the Vietnamese mission to the United Nations, said.
“Others are reluctant as they lack the confidence to face fair competition once protectionism is lifted,” Xuan said.
Le Dang Doanh, senior economic expert, said companies with such a hesitant attitude are to blame for prolonging Vietnam’s negotiations over WTO entry.
“The situation has influenced the country’s stance at the negotiating roundtable,” Doanh said.
“Previously, some companies said they needed time to make preparations. The country’s efforts for WTO accession were initiated 10 years ago. But now, they say they are not ready yet,” he said.
It is impossible to resist global integration; it is a must, said Pham Viet Muon, vice chairman of the Government Office and deputy head of the steering committee for enterprise reform and development.
According to Muon, SOEs cannot plead workforce redundancy as the cause for their delay in restructuring.
“Redundant workers will be given other jobs. In the past three years, the central government spent VND5 trillion ($314.45 million) on creating jobs for 140,000 redundant workers in order to prevent a dramatic impact on society,” Muon explained.
Thanh Nien
Vietnamese
