A leading home appliance supermarket in HCMC recently issued an “ultimatum” to local fan manufacturers to make their products 20 percent cheaper by the time Vietnam enters the WTO, or else!

If domestic manufacturers don’t comply, the store will be using foreign suppliers who can offer a competitive price, with a superior guarantee of quality.

Another businessman in the cosmetics industry holds a similar vision of competing with global giants on home turf.

“We have the same ingredients and packaging methods with leading foreign companies. But they hold 70-80 percent of the market while we can barely make it,” he said.

“We can’t even afford TV commercials, let alone build an effective brand image, God only knows what will happen after we are allowed into the WTO”, he said.

International economic experts visited HCMC to discuss the country’s post-WTO economy.

Professor Norbert Walter, chief economist of Deutsche Bank Group, advised both businesses and governmental departments to try their best to boost promotional campaigns, or risk becoming the “forgotten” Asian tiger.

Dr Yawa Hedcrick-Wong, MasterCard’s Asia economic consultant, warns that the Vietnam government’s internal preparation is insufficient.

Privatizing state enterprises is a major problem, with the government recently propping up state ship builder Vinashin with US$ 750 million.

Wong also said Vietnam needs to identify “strategic industries” for the nation to invest in, usually those with the highest competitiveness, which would then receive preferential treatment and intensive support from government.

While Vietnam’s “strategic industries” are still under discussion by the nation’s economic ‘experts’, the country sits on the precipice of WTO entrance, which could come in just a matter of months.

Meanwhile, companies complain that they have little access to information on accession, what deals have been negotiated, and therefore what to prepare for once the impact of accession takes hold.

One business director put in frankly: “The government fears that posting information on bilateral negotiations will bring disadvantages.

But it’s the other way around - it is critical for businesses to plan and prepare by knowing what Vietnamese products enjoy low tariffs to the US, Japan, and EU. Is that too much to ask?”

Source: Tuoi Tre