What’s the Impact of Viet Kieu Investment in Vietnam?

So what does all this mean?

If you are like me, you are wondering what the future look likes for overseas Vietnamese businesses. Is it safe for an overseas Vietnamese to invest or do business in Vietnam? Does Vietnam have the capacity to be a true Tiger economy?  Will overseas Vietnamese play a significant role in Vietnam’s future?

The decision on whether or not an overseas Vietnamese can invest in Vietnam is a deeply personal question that involves weighing financial, legal, and political risks.  Vietnam presents enormous opportunity for bi-cultural Vietnamese, but also unique risks. Other articles and those with experience on the ground can speak to this better than I can. What I conclude, however, is that despite enormous economic influence (even relative to other large investors), overseas Vietnamese still lack basic property or collective bargaining rights pending fundamental legal reform in Vietnam. For its part, the diaspora has failed to field a unified, internationally recognized representative authority to lobby for its collective economic interest or to create some efficient mechanism or market for pooling its capital.

As for the future, I conclude that the biggest contribution that we in the diaspora can make is the investment of intellectual capital. This offers the highest growth potential and the way for Vietnam to evolve beyond the trap of low value-added, labor-intensive industries or pure natural resource extraction that foreign investors favor. Even Vietnamese authorities admit that the country’s educational infrastructure and scientific abilities are very poor and lag behind other ASEAN countries. Until enough young Vietnamese can be educated overseas and the country’s educational institutions modernized, the knowledge from overseas Vietnamese is critical to filling the gap.

Finally, it is clear that successful Viet Kieu businesses know to keep very quiet about their activities to avoid drawing attention from Little Saigon activists or corrupt local officials. Hanoi has issued numerous appeals for investment from abroad, but has failed to offer the commensurate financial incentives or legal protections. Historical mistrust remains deep on both sides. Yet Vietnamese youth everywhere share a common interest in contributing responsibly to Vietnam’s long-term economic and social development. Perhaps platforms such as OneVietnam can erase this mistrust.