That dispute has caused potential foreign investors to sit on the sidelines. Within the bureaucracy, most official don't know how a market economy is supposed to work and are more interested in protecting their jobs and authority than in issuing permits and licenses needed for economic development. Several foreign executives said Vietnamese partners were more concerned with what they could wheedle out of the joint venture than in nurturing it. Vietnamese were said to lack business experience, accept kickback from suppliers, engage in nepotism and hamper joint ventures by vetoing decisions - the minority partner has an equal say with the majority investor here. Shakedowns and kickbacks Bribery, kickbacks, tax evasion, tax collectors lining their own pockets, police shakedowns and officials demanding to see account books without giving a reason are a way of life here.
Investment counselors lament a lack of debt financing.
Vietnam has no stock market, although there has been talk of starting one. Banking is in the dark ages, with 45 percent of all cash circulating outside the system, according to Doanh. Despite the hurdles, some foreign investors are struggling to make things work.