Vietnam emerges as a promising market

Vietnam has great potential for achieving a high economic growth, but needs to curb inflation and maintain sustainable development in an effective way, said Paul Sarbanes, former chairman of the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and co-author of Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Mr Paul made the remarks at the ninth Asian Banker Summit 2008 held in Hanoi on March 17-18. “It’s really a difficult question when you want continued economic growth and at the same time you want to have inflation under control,” he said.

Sarbanes–Oxley Act also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly known as SOx or Sarbox is a US federal law enacted in July 2002 in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals.

The Act established a new quasi-public agency, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which is charged with overseeing, regulating, inspecting, and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies.

Balancing the two requires very careful adjustments on how you move ahead.

The US economist said that apart from tightening the monetary policy, it is essential to implement comprehensive measures with a focus on raising the quality of human resources, management capacity and the transparency of the financial system.

Mr Paul’s view was shared by David Eldon, chairman of the Asian Banker Summit Advisory Council, who said that it takes time for the economy to adapt to new changes in the integration process.

Mr David, who is also chairman of the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority and former president of HSBC, said that there were many ways of dealing with inflation, but “using interest rates as the first line of defence will slow down economic growth.“

According to him, many foreign investors have recently seen the Vietnamese market, especially the financial and banking sector as a new emerging and promising market in the region.

The Asian Banker Summit provided a good chance for international businesses to gain a better understanding of the Vietnamese market and its financial and banking system. It also helped local banks access and cooperate with international financial organisations.

Speaking on the fringe of the summit, Emmanuel Daniel, Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Asian Banker, said that with advantages in human resources, rapid development and WTO commitments, Vietnam is becoming a potential market and will achieve a high economic growth in the future.

However, he said the country is now facing certain challenges, including “an unclear message“ to foreign investors and lax security services. He expressed his belief that Vietnam will overcome these difficulties as Vietnamese people are industrious, dynamic and intelligent and the Government always supports domestic and foreign businesses.


source: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2008/03/774486/