OV scholar suggests shifting to overseas venture investment hinh anh 1Delegates at the event (Source: VNA)
Geneva (VNA) – A Vietnamese scholar in the Netherlands suggested Vietnam shift to venture investment abroad rather than relying on developing the intellectual-based economy at home during a seminar recently held in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to Dr Hoang Ngoc Giang, lecturer at Utrecht University of the Netherlands and former independent advisor to several venture investment funds in Switzerland, the Vietnamese economy is focusing on attracting foreign capital to facilitate technology transfer and send experts abroad for studies, and has recently embarked on a plan to develop itself into a start-up nation.

However, he described this approach as unfeasible, reasoning that four major pillars of Vietnam’s intellectual-based economy, including education-training, innovation eco-system, information infrastructure, economic climate and social institutions, remain insufficient and weak.

In his suggestion, the top priority should be given to technology because it is the greatest source of added value in the future. In spite of requiring long-term capital (5-10 years) and exposing weak liquidity and high risks, it will bridge development gap and bring strategic interests to Vietnam regarding governance skills and competiveness learnt from the most developed economies.  

He proposed that direct outbound investment could be made by sending the most excellent intellectuals abroad to nurture and commercialise inventions, providing aid for successful start-ups to join relevant overseas competitions, and pouring capital into start-up ideas by Vietnamese students and workers in host countries.

Indirect investment could be made by contributing capital to overseas venture investment funds and start-ups, he said.

In order to utilise linkage between overseas venture investment and domestic manufacturing, he called attention to drafting a detailed plan on venture investment abroad, arranging human resources and capital to build a start-up ecosystem, establishing a Vietnam venture investment fund abroad, prioritising agricultural and processing technology projects, and screening relevant start-ups.-VNA
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