Vietnam: Whether state officials discourage prosperous small business owners to remain in business by forcing them to hand over their businesses to cooperatives or state agencies for purposes of consolidation of an industry or economic activity
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 11 March 2004 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | VNM42397.E |
| Reference | 7 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Vietnam: Whether state officials discourage prosperous small business owners to remain in business by forcing them to hand over their businesses to cooperatives or state agencies for purposes of consolidation of an industry or economic activity , 11 March 2004, VNM42397.E , available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/41501c7523.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No information on whether state officials discourage prosperous small business owners to remain in business by forcing them to hand over their businesses to cooperatives or state agencies for purposes of consolidation of an industry or economic activity could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, Transparency International (TI) reports that corruption is widespread in Vietnam (2003). The international anti-corruption organization ranked Vietnam 85 out of 102 countries on its 2002 Corruption Perceptions Index (TI 28 Aug. 2002). According to TI's Global Corruption Report 2003,
[a]lthough the Communist Party in Vietnam dominates politics, its authority does not necessarily translate into effective reforms. The obstacle is not predatory interests in the private sector, because the business community has yet to become a meaningful presence, but vested state interests. Resistance to the reform of state-owned enterprises continues to be strong within the bureaucracy (2003).
In a 9 December 2002 Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) article, members of the Vietnam Business Forum, the major vehicle for private businesses to lobby the central government of Vietnam (AFP 24 May 2002), voiced their concern that the "unequal treatment of businesses" (DPA 9 Dec. 2002) and a high level of corruption among government officials would drive away investors. In a separate report, members of the Vietnam Business Forum complained that local officials "lack[ed] understanding ... when implementing government policy" and that small businesses "had little or no access to affordable loans or credit to pay for training and expansion" (AFP 24 May 2002). Furthermore, the World Bank country director for Vietnam stated that "too many [government] decisions are still made with little transparency, and foreign and private companies still face discrimination compared to state-owned enterprises" (DPA 9 Dec. 2002).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 24 May 2002. "Weak Commodity Prices Could Harm Vietnam: World Bank Economist." (Dialog)
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). 9 December 2002. "Corruption, Bias Stymie Vietnam Business Development." Transparency International (TI). 2003. Global Corruption Report 2003. Emil Bolongaita. "Southeast Asia." _____. 28 August 2002. "Corruption Perceptions Index 2002." Additional Sources Consulted
Unsuccessful attempts to obtain information from the UNDP Liaison Office in Vietnam and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre in the UK.
Publications: Asian Survey [Berkeley]. 2003; Far Eastern Economic Review [Hong Kong]. 2004.
Internet sites, including: Amnesty International, ASIANaffairs, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2003, Dialog, Free Vietnam Alliance, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International, UNDP, UNESCAP, Vietnam Business Forum (in Vietnamese), Viet Nam News.
