The formation of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the quickeninginternational economic integration process are expected to open up manyopportunities for Vietnamese companies, as well as pose enormouschallenges to them. For years, despite economic turmoil, the Ba Ria -Vung Tau Urban Sewerage and Development One Member Limited Company(Busadco) - the first science and technology company in Vietnam - stillcontinued stable and sustainable development. The company is steered andled by Dr Hoang Duc Thao, a Labour Hero in the reform era, Presidentand CEO of Busadco. He is also the member of the VCCI ExecutiveCommittee of the fifth term (1999 - 2013).
Before the sixth term of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VCCI), Vietnam Business Forum had an exclusive interview with him onthis issue.
* How do you assess the position androle of VCCI in business development support and promotion in the pastterm? What should VCCI do in the next term to further promote its‘gathering’ and ‘connecting’ roles?
As a national agencyrepresentative of the business community, VCCI has actually ‘gathered’companies in Vietnam in various fields and ‘connected’ companies withcompanies, companies with markets, companies with domestic andinternational business associations. These activities have been, andwill be, helping improve performance efficiency of companies in Vietnamin general and VCCI member companies in particular.
During thefifth tenure (2009 - 2013), VCCI has taken many joint measures tosupport the business community to deal with difficulties. Specifically,VCCI has created every condition for enterprises to forge joint venture,association, cooperation and mutual assistance to build a developedbusiness community. VCCI has also created a forum for enterprises toshare and exchange business information.
In my opinion, in theterm ahead, VCCI needs to endeavour to strengthen and promote its roleand position to meet new requirements for enterprise development,social, economic and political development. VCCI needs to quickly assessand analyse domestic and international market situations to takemeasures to help companies in Vietnam develop more sustainably. Besides,VCCI needs to further propose, advise and counsel competent Stateagencies on policymaking and enforcement to help enterprises to add moreresources, enhance performance efficiency, protect intellectualproperty, speed up growth, and expand domestic and internationaltechnological markets, especially macroeconomic policies like scienceand technology development priorities, flagship industry development,local material utilisation, scientific breakthroughs, techniques,technology, environmental protection in the way that enterprises willstrengthen their independence and boost production and businesscapacity, reduce excess imports, and reduce dependence on foreigntechnologies.
Besides, VCCI needs to increase activities toprotect legitimate and legal rights of enterprises in Vietnam byadopting more measures to safeguard their intellectual property rights,prevent dumping, settle disputes in trade, brand and product designs,food safety and hygiene standards, and technical barriers.
*As a member of the 5 th term VCCI Executive Committee, how do youassess the current development of Vietnamese business community? Foryou, what are the biggest challenges against the Vietnamese businesscommunity when it enters the process of international economicintegration?
As a member of the VCCI Executive Committee inthe fifth term (2009 - 2013), I have some remarks on the currentdevelopment of Vietnamese business community as follows. Vietnameseenterprises are undergoing an extremely difficult phase because they areshortly familiar with market economy driven by global economicintegration. Their awful encounter is the ongoing global economicdownturn. Escalating inflation, real estate market slump and stockmarket slump are wrecking on enterprises and send them to defensivepositions. Exorbitant loans, unpaid debts, huge inventories andproduction stagnations are staining the overall picture of Vietnameseeconomy. These shocks have forced companies to change from advancingposition to defensive position to seek survival opportunities. Besides,many companies are very bad and weak at business strategy orientationand information collection and processing and they apparently lackinformation about market and partners when they want to join hands.These shortcomings make them more vulnerable to crisis, underperformanceand even bankruptcy.
In addition, Vietnam is now facing hugechallenges, especially backward technologies and spontaneous businesspractices. Especially when the ASEAN Community comes into force,pressures from imports, exports, technical barriers, hygiene and foodsafety, competition in services and investment among ASEAN countriesbecome more severe. Outdated industries and production technologies anduncompetitive products will have to narrow operating scale, evendisappear from the market.
* As a business leader, whatdevelopment strategy did you take to lead your company through currentglobal and domestic economic turmoil to continue with your company’ssustainable development steps?
Busadco is the first scienceand technology company in Vietnam. The company’s development strategy iscreativity - breakthrough - development. Busadco always takes scienceand technology as motivations and foundations for development.
Busadco’s major scientific and technological research activities are toactively utilise available resources (capital, assets and people) tofinance scientific and technological research and application. Busadcois independent, self-reliant and self-responsible in scientific andtechnological research and application. To live through economicslowdown, Busadco always sticks to its core values that it hasbuilt over the past 10 years. These core values include 5 No’s(no bad credit debt, no product backlog, no tax and insurance owes, nounfocused investment, and no reliance on State budget for scientific andtechnological research and development) and 5 Have’s (have brand name,have reputation, have stable income, have regular employment, havepatent technology, have accumulated capital for continued development).
Busadco always strives to find opportunities in anycircumstances and bears in mind that the company only controls themarket and sustains development only when it masters new technologies.If companies only do outsourcing based on orders placed from customers,they will never make breakthroughs to strengthen sustainabledevelopment. Investment for creativity and technological innovation isalways the core value in the Busadco development strategy.
* Do you have any personal advice to the next VCCI ExecutiveCommittee in order to have more practical and effective activities topromote the development of Vietnamese business community?
Apart from accompanying enterprises and seeking solutions todifficulties against enterprises, the VCCI Executive Committee in the 6th term needs to further enhance its advice on policies and laws, andimprove investment environment for enterprises. VCCI should be moreactive and frequent in gathering feedbacks and recommendations fromenterprises to propose to the government or competent authorities forsolutions to deal with difficulties against enterprises. VCCI shouldalso lean on domestic and international associations to promote its‘connecting’ role, enhance communistic characteristics, and share andexchange information to improve production efficiency.
Thenext VCCI Executive Committee needs to have a sustainable businessdevelopment master plan in the course of international integration. Thismaster plan is the credo for Vietnamese companies to integrate with newdirections, shift from order-based outsourcing and crude export torefined export. It should dignify companies that take the initiative intechnological innovation and raise intellectual content in each product.-VNA
Before the sixth term of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VCCI), Vietnam Business Forum had an exclusive interview with him onthis issue.
* How do you assess the position androle of VCCI in business development support and promotion in the pastterm? What should VCCI do in the next term to further promote its‘gathering’ and ‘connecting’ roles?
As a national agencyrepresentative of the business community, VCCI has actually ‘gathered’companies in Vietnam in various fields and ‘connected’ companies withcompanies, companies with markets, companies with domestic andinternational business associations. These activities have been, andwill be, helping improve performance efficiency of companies in Vietnamin general and VCCI member companies in particular.
During thefifth tenure (2009 - 2013), VCCI has taken many joint measures tosupport the business community to deal with difficulties. Specifically,VCCI has created every condition for enterprises to forge joint venture,association, cooperation and mutual assistance to build a developedbusiness community. VCCI has also created a forum for enterprises toshare and exchange business information.
In my opinion, in theterm ahead, VCCI needs to endeavour to strengthen and promote its roleand position to meet new requirements for enterprise development,social, economic and political development. VCCI needs to quickly assessand analyse domestic and international market situations to takemeasures to help companies in Vietnam develop more sustainably. Besides,VCCI needs to further propose, advise and counsel competent Stateagencies on policymaking and enforcement to help enterprises to add moreresources, enhance performance efficiency, protect intellectualproperty, speed up growth, and expand domestic and internationaltechnological markets, especially macroeconomic policies like scienceand technology development priorities, flagship industry development,local material utilisation, scientific breakthroughs, techniques,technology, environmental protection in the way that enterprises willstrengthen their independence and boost production and businesscapacity, reduce excess imports, and reduce dependence on foreigntechnologies.
Besides, VCCI needs to increase activities toprotect legitimate and legal rights of enterprises in Vietnam byadopting more measures to safeguard their intellectual property rights,prevent dumping, settle disputes in trade, brand and product designs,food safety and hygiene standards, and technical barriers.
*As a member of the 5 th term VCCI Executive Committee, how do youassess the current development of Vietnamese business community? Foryou, what are the biggest challenges against the Vietnamese businesscommunity when it enters the process of international economicintegration?
As a member of the VCCI Executive Committee inthe fifth term (2009 - 2013), I have some remarks on the currentdevelopment of Vietnamese business community as follows. Vietnameseenterprises are undergoing an extremely difficult phase because they areshortly familiar with market economy driven by global economicintegration. Their awful encounter is the ongoing global economicdownturn. Escalating inflation, real estate market slump and stockmarket slump are wrecking on enterprises and send them to defensivepositions. Exorbitant loans, unpaid debts, huge inventories andproduction stagnations are staining the overall picture of Vietnameseeconomy. These shocks have forced companies to change from advancingposition to defensive position to seek survival opportunities. Besides,many companies are very bad and weak at business strategy orientationand information collection and processing and they apparently lackinformation about market and partners when they want to join hands.These shortcomings make them more vulnerable to crisis, underperformanceand even bankruptcy.
In addition, Vietnam is now facing hugechallenges, especially backward technologies and spontaneous businesspractices. Especially when the ASEAN Community comes into force,pressures from imports, exports, technical barriers, hygiene and foodsafety, competition in services and investment among ASEAN countriesbecome more severe. Outdated industries and production technologies anduncompetitive products will have to narrow operating scale, evendisappear from the market.
* As a business leader, whatdevelopment strategy did you take to lead your company through currentglobal and domestic economic turmoil to continue with your company’ssustainable development steps?
Busadco is the first scienceand technology company in Vietnam. The company’s development strategy iscreativity - breakthrough - development. Busadco always takes scienceand technology as motivations and foundations for development.
Busadco’s major scientific and technological research activities are toactively utilise available resources (capital, assets and people) tofinance scientific and technological research and application. Busadcois independent, self-reliant and self-responsible in scientific andtechnological research and application. To live through economicslowdown, Busadco always sticks to its core values that it hasbuilt over the past 10 years. These core values include 5 No’s(no bad credit debt, no product backlog, no tax and insurance owes, nounfocused investment, and no reliance on State budget for scientific andtechnological research and development) and 5 Have’s (have brand name,have reputation, have stable income, have regular employment, havepatent technology, have accumulated capital for continued development).
Busadco always strives to find opportunities in anycircumstances and bears in mind that the company only controls themarket and sustains development only when it masters new technologies.If companies only do outsourcing based on orders placed from customers,they will never make breakthroughs to strengthen sustainabledevelopment. Investment for creativity and technological innovation isalways the core value in the Busadco development strategy.
* Do you have any personal advice to the next VCCI ExecutiveCommittee in order to have more practical and effective activities topromote the development of Vietnamese business community?
Apart from accompanying enterprises and seeking solutions todifficulties against enterprises, the VCCI Executive Committee in the 6th term needs to further enhance its advice on policies and laws, andimprove investment environment for enterprises. VCCI should be moreactive and frequent in gathering feedbacks and recommendations fromenterprises to propose to the government or competent authorities forsolutions to deal with difficulties against enterprises. VCCI shouldalso lean on domestic and international associations to promote its‘connecting’ role, enhance communistic characteristics, and share andexchange information to improve production efficiency.
Thenext VCCI Executive Committee needs to have a sustainable businessdevelopment master plan in the course of international integration. Thismaster plan is the credo for Vietnamese companies to integrate with newdirections, shift from order-based outsourcing and crude export torefined export. It should dignify companies that take the initiative intechnological innovation and raise intellectual content in each product.-VNA
