The economic playing field in which Vietnam is a thrust will
drastically change upon the realisation of the ASEAN Economic Community
(AEC) and regional integration by 2015, commented radio The Voice of
Vietnam (VOV).
According to the radio, the trade pacts with the
EU and US, which are in the offing, will further complicate the economic
landscape as Vietnam scrambles to fulfil its commitments by opening
markets, scrapping many import tariffs, opening services, and reducing
technical trade barriers.
Experts caution that although these
milestones bring with them bright prospects for much greater economic
prosperity in the long-term, the transition is not going to be a bed of
roses, and there are many challenges that lie ahead in the short term.
Businesses
need to be circumspect about their approach to and each of them must be
well prepared for the opportunities and challenges, they say.
Economic
expert Pham Chi Lan is wary of the economic and business capacity of
the Vietnamese business community, saying it is not strong enough to
quickly weather the storm.
Around 98 percent of Vietnamese
businesses are small and medium sized and are always short of capital.
They are easily affected by outside factors. Furthermore, a lack of
coordination makes it difficult for them to align themselves and form
strong business blocs.
If Vietnamese businesses do not reorient
their business plans and find a niche in a production chain, it will be
virtually impossible for them to survive in the new competitive market
place in the long-term, Lan was quoted as saying.
Local
businesses are going to bear the brunt of fierce competition, requiring
them to make a greater effort to improve themselves. The best laid
business plans and strategies of the past will not suffice in the new
economic environment.
Vo Tri Thanh, another prominent economist
is also concerned about whether the requisite institutional reforms will
be sufficiently in place to effectively cope with the competitive
onslaught on the horizon.
Thanh suggests a stronger
institutional reform, saying there is a dire need for a carefully
though-out and coordinated effort from the Government and businesses to
put the reform plan in place.
Compared to other markets in new
market space, Vietnam is much weaker in terms of qualifications,
development and economic capacity, and will simply be overwhelmed when
besieged with foreign competition.
In the new economic playing
field brought about by global integration, many countries have made
thorough preparations and if Vietnam does not follow their lead, the
nation quite simply will never catch up with them, Thanh warns.
Tran
Ba Duong, CEO of Truong Hai Automobile Company, says businesses should
seize the opportunities and carefully craft a long-term strategy and
start preparing immediately.
Duong says he has been working for
the past 12 years and expended much effort to accomplish his goals and
achieve success. Success is highly dependent on prudence and carefully
laying out business plans, in addition to effort.
The new
economic playing field is not for laggards, advises Truong Gia Binh,
Chairman of FPT Board of Directors. Businesses should strive their
utmost to grasp the opportunities and transform them into reality.
Concrete
plans and foresight are the order of the day, Binh says, adding
businesses need to devise detailed action plans and be vigilant in their
implementation. Plans should encompass both the short and long-terms,
he says.
Although businesses have paid great attention to major
agreements, such as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Vietnam-EU FTA,
they have little to vague knowledge of regional agreements.
Beginning
in 2015 ASEAN markets will open comprehensively. The competitive risks
are imminent, however, many businesses are lackadaisical and ignore or
act as they still do not care about it.
This is a very dangerous
attitude as it guarantees these businesses will most certainly fail on
their home turf when it comes to competing directly with more
experienced counterparts from other regional nations.
In addition
to the individual effort expended by businesses, success or failure is
also highly dependent on Governmental policy and guidelines, Johnathan
Hanh Nguyen, President of the Imex Pan-Pacific Group (IPP), was cited as
saying.
The Government has listened to the business community’s collective voice, so many issues have been dealt with effectively.
Businesses
should get more actively involved in making policy in cohesion with the
Government in order to ensure those policies are in alignment with
reality, says Tran Ba Duong.
Vo Tri Thanh says a strategic vision
by the Government toward reforming institutions is obligatory to the
creation of a healthy competitive environment and level global economic
playing field for businesses.-VNA