LookAtVietnam -
That is the question that Dr. Vu Minh Khuong, a lecturer at the National
Singapore University, has received from many Singaporeans.
They said Singapore
has only one seaport and one Sentosa Island while Vietnam has many seaports and many
beautiful islands like Phu Quoc, Ha Long, Van Phong, etc. but it is listed
among countries with low average per capita income and low competitiveness.
This question is difficult for Singaporeans but it is not
difficult for those who understand Vietnam.
Dr. Khuong said that Vietnam
has a large potential for development but Vietnam doesn’t know where it
should focus.
According to Khuong,
Vietnam’s case
is like that of a man who is very versatile, who can play music very well and
can also draw nice paintings. With so many talents, he sometimes does
scientific research, other times plays music and then draws paintings and in
the end he doesn’t become a scientist nor a musician nor a painter.
For example, Quang Ninh province in northern Vietnam
has Ha Long Bay and abundant reserves of coal. The province both explores coal
and develops tourism but coal exploration harms the Ha Long Bay’s
natural environment.
Tourism development in Quang Ninh, sadly, focuses on
attracting large numbers of visitors, who however don’t spend much money there.
Quang Ninh is not the only one example in Vietnam. Provinces in the Red River
Delta are wondering how to explore the giant coal reserves under their rice
granary, which is the dream of many countries in the current context, when food
security is the top priority.
Local governments in Vietnam are striving for high
growth rates and industrlisation, not thinking about the advantages they
already have. Their development plans are all similar. And this means that they
lose their competitiveness.
Let’s look at the seaport development in Vietnam. All coastal provinces in Vietnam
want to have their own seaports. In the next ten years, Vietnam will build up to 39
seaports, with 108 wharves. Is it good? The more seaports there are, the less
goods each seaports will service, which in turn, means higher costs.
In the US,
there are only three major seaports along the 1900km-long western coast.
Vietnam
seems to forget Malaysia’s
lesson of seaports development. Prior to the 1970s, it had only two big ports.
The government decided to build four more national and three domestic ports,
resulting in the redundancy of seaports and severe competition among them.
With a strategic position and a long coast, Vietnam has the advantages to become an
international transit center but will Vietnam take the chance?
There was a time when all provinces and cities tried to have
their own sugar and cement plants and now they are racing to have their own
steel plants and seaports, which are all small.
Vietnam
currently doesn’t have an international transit container seaport. It has some
international ports like Saigon, Da Nang and Hai Phong, which can host big
vessels but their services don’t meet the demand, service charges are high and
the customs clearance duration is long (3-7 days on average compared to 10
minutes in Singapore). There is no adequate investment in the railway and road
networks connected with these ports. Infrastructural facilities are poor.
Experts mention a story which is shows how regional
interests hindering the overall development:
The Cai Mep-Thi Vai seaport in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau welcomed big foreign
cargo ships. In every aspect, this port was suitable to become an international
transit port. However, HCM
City and Long An also
wanted to turn their ports into international transit ports while there was a
shortage of capital.
Attracting foreign investment is another area, which can
partly answer the question why Vietnam
doesn’t become rich though it “sits” on mounts of gold.
Though the country has a common policy on foreign investment
but to lure investors, many provinces and cities have broken the rules, by
offering many more incentives.
A survey by the Ministry of Finance at 48 provinces and
cities in 2006 revealed that up to 32 provinces issued illegal documents, which
offered special incentives for investors and 11 provinces violated the
regulations on corporate income tax.
The race to attract foreign investment among provinces
harmsthe national economy. This is the race to the “bottom”.
“Instead of competition, cooperation and combination among
provinces and sectors must be encouraged,” advised Professor Michael Porter.
Vietnam
should seriously consider its position in the global economy at present and
define its advantages that can make its name in the world.
Phuong Loan
