The Lingering Question: Vietnamese Enterprises – “Incapable” or Simply “Unwilling”? Unveiling the Obstacles Hindering the “Made by Vietnam” Ambition.
Over a decade ago, in 2014, the National Assembly (13th tenure) witnessed heated debates about the inability of Vietnamese supporting industry enterprises to fulfill orders for Samsung, specifically concerning battery chargers and screws.
Deputy Tran Quoc Tuan (Tra Vinh province) poignantly questioned, “Our country trains so many PhDs and engineers each year, yet we cannot even produce a simple screw. How then can we participate in the global value chain?”
Years later, the “screw” saga resurfaced when Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Dang Tuat, Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Supporting Industries, frankly stated, “There was a time I used to sarcastically say that the only screw we could make was for attaching license plates, and even those rusted after just six months.” He also emphasized that the current capacity of major automobile enterprises in Vietnam, such as Thaco, remains limited to importing and assembling, falling short of establishing a genuine automobile industry.
The elevator industry paints a similar picture, with most businesses primarily importing and assembling or merely producing simple mechanical components with low intellectual content and modest added value.
This raises a critical question: Are Vietnamese enterprises truly incapable, or do they possess the capacity but lack the will to act?
The story of the screw, seemingly simple, unveils a complex and troubling dilemma in the quest for solutions.
Venturing into low-tech, low-value-added consumer products with reasonable investment, Vietnamese enterprises face imminent domination by Chinese counterparts, leveraging their advantages in scale, technology, and cost. Conversely, delving into high-tech products demanding substantial investment presents an even greater challenge, as the “foreign goods preference” among domestic consumers remains a significant barrier. “Vietnamese goods” are often met with skepticism, even before being given a chance. These are real obstacles in the survival story of Vietnamese enterprises entering the market.
Some anecdotes seem stranger than fiction. I recall a case where a patient sought treatment in Singapore but received cardiac intervention from a Vietnamese doctor who had been invited there to train and demonstrate techniques. While foreigners fly to Vietnam for medical treatment, Vietnamese people spend billions of USD seeking medical care abroad.
Beyond the issue of trust, the enforcement of laws against counterfeit and pirated goods remains inadequate. Legitimate businesses grapple with unfair competition from substandard goods, while products meeting standards—the result of intellectual prowess and investment—suffer disadvantages in the market.
Party General Secretary To Lam emphasized, “The current system is the bottleneck of bottlenecks.” Cumbersome administrative procedures and overlapping management among ministries can entangle a medium-sized investment project in dozens of different laws, spanning investment, land, construction, environment, and planning. A single problematic link can indefinitely stall an entire project.
Statistics from 62 out of 63 provinces and cities reveal that over 1,100 projects are currently facing legal hurdles, awaiting resolution, and tying up a massive amount of investment capital.
Meanwhile, producing high-value-added products requires long-term strategies, substantial financial and human resources, and a willingness to embrace high risks. However, inconsistent and unpredictable policy changes discourage even the most “Vietnam spirit”-driven enterprises, causing them to hesitate and withdraw. Despite numerous policies implemented to support businesses, their actual effectiveness remains questionable. Many businesses bitterly joke that “reforms exist only on paper.”
In the latest “Top 15 Shipbuilding Powers in the World” ranking by Insider Monkey (USA) in April 2023, based on data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Vietnam ranks 7th globally. The image depicts the Thang Long high-speed super vessel manufactured by the 189 One Member Limited Liability Company (Z189) shipyard.
Throughout history, the Vietnamese people have been known for their intelligence, diligence, industriousness, creativity, and patriotism. We are among the top 10 countries with the highest IQ scores globally. A nation that once prompted Singapore’s late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to remark, “If any country deserves to lead Southeast Asia, it is Vietnam,” cannot possibly lack the courage to rise in the global industrial arena.
Therefore, I believe that Vietnamese professors, PhDs, and scientists are not devoid of talent to achieve great things; perhaps the most accurate assessment is that they have simply chosen NOT TO ACT.
Numerous questions linger, and everyone has their answers. But who will be the executor, transforming Vietnamese enterprises—national enterprises—from “not doing” to “daring to do”? The time has come to move beyond the question of “Why aren’t we doing it?” The focus must shift to “Who will take action to ensure Vietnamese enterprises are no longer mere spectators in the game?” so that instead of just “preparing the nest for the eagles,” we will have enterprises soaring alongside them!
