2006年VOA标准英语-A Confident Vietnam Gears Up to Host APEC Summi

By Matt Steinglass
Hanoi
08 November 2006

As Vietnam prepares to host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month, it can boast one of the world's fastest growing economies and imminent¹ membership in the World Trade Organization. Ten years after communist Vietnam's first wave of capitalist euphoria ground to a halt, the country is booming again. But some analysts² warn that certain weaknesses could once again bring growth to a halt.

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When Vietnam's new prime minister addressed the country's National Assembly in October, he had a lot to be proud of.

 
Nguyen Tan Dung  
  
Nguyen Tan Dung says Vietnam has achieved its yearly targets in every sector³ and he forecast growth for the next year at more than eight percent.

Mr. Dung is not the only one to be optimistic.

Peter Ryder is CEO of Indochina Capital, which manages nearly $600 million in Vietnamese equities⁴ and real estate. He says foreign investors⁶ could not be more bullish on Vietnam.

"There's obviously enormous amounts of offshore⁷ interest. Domestic investment's way up. … No matter how you look at the economy, it's quite a rosy⁸ picture," he said.

Foreign direct investment exceeded $5 billion in the first nine months of this year and Vietnam's exports doubled between 2002 and 2005, to more than $32 billion.

Foreign companies are flocking to the country, with computer and office equipment manufacturers Intel and Canon among those to build factories here.

But some are cautioning Vietnam's government against too much exuberance⁹.

Workers prepare a flower display in preparation for upcoming APEC summit in Hanoi  
  
This is not the first time Vietnam has seen a wave of investor⁵ enthusiasm. Indochina Capital's Ryder was here in the mid-1990s, when it became clear investor expectations were unsustainable.

"…It was very quickly being touted¹⁰ as the next Asian Dragon," he said. "There was this very blank canvas with enormous human resource, natural resource, et cetera potential - that had utterly¹¹ no infrastructure¹². Either physical or soft, as in banking¹³ systems, legal systems, finance systems."

As foreign investors realized how difficult it was to do business in Vietnam, many pulled out.

Pete Peterson, a former U.S. Air Force pilot who spent nine years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, became America's first ambassador to Vietnam after relations were normalized in 1995.

He says Vietnam has made tremendous progress in structural¹⁴ reform, business laws and banking infrastructure are now far more sophisticated than a decade ago but problems remain.

"There is a huge deficit¹⁵ in transportation infrastructure. The rail structure is just pathetic," he said.

Many major exporters agree. In September, foreign companies with Vietnamese operations, including Nike and The Gap, warned the government they were running out of port capacity.

Exporters say by next year they could be experiencing significant delays, a critical problem in industries like garments and seafood¹⁶.

Infrastructure improvements have been slowed by corruption¹⁷. A huge scandal in Vietnam's Ministry¹⁸ of Transportation this year brought highway construction in the north to a virtual halt.

Vietnam's economy also remains¹⁹ dominated by huge state-owned firms.

Nguyen Hoang Luu, vice²⁰ chairman of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, says the government is failing to promote small private businesses that are the true engines of growth.

Luu says government officials favor big state firms with credit and land, and harass²¹ small businesses with demands for bribes²².

Scott Cheshier is an economist²³ at the United Nations Development Program in Hanoi. He says problems occur when government companies, like Vietnam Post and Telegraph, or VNPT, both regulate and do business in the same industry.

"For instance, VNPT set regulations for the telecom sector and operated within those regulations it set," he said. "So there were conflicts of interest."

But Cheshier says the government is now moving to privatize state-owned firms as part of reforms mandated²⁴ by Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organization on November 7.

The country has had to stop subsidizing its textile industry, and its domestic gasoline prices. It is also having let even more foreign firms into Vietnamese markets.

Bui Hong Ky, 35, works for a Vietnamese express mail company, and is nervous about what new competition will bring.

"In the future when regulations change, a lot of forwarders, a lot of airlines or shipping²⁵ lines, can join Vietnam," he said. "And at that time private companies can't bear with the difficulties."

But others are looking forward to the changes. Tran Duc Nghia is a manager at software company FPT, which has partnership²⁶ agreements with Microsoft.

"When Vietnam accedes²⁷ to the WTO, we think that we have more chance in order to work.," he said.

At the new Vincom Towers mall in Hanoi, signs of Vietnam's growing wealth are everywhere, from Benetton and Prada franchises²⁸ to Vietnam's first full-fledged multiplex movie theater.

Phuong Dung, 23, a student at Hanoi's Foreign Trade University, is out shopping. Her optimism is typical of Vietnam's urban youth.

Phuong Dung says she's happy that her job opportunities are so much better than in her parents' generation. And she thinks Vietnam is only going to keep getting richer.

1 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 equities   

普通股，股票

参考例句：

• These are invested mainly in the OECD bonds and equities. 这些资产主要投资于经济合作及发展组织的债券与股票市场。
• They are also advantage of the global rebound in equities. 它们还在利用全球股市反弹的机会。

5 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

8 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

9 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

10 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

11 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

14 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

15 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

16 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

17 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

18 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

21 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

22 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

23 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

24 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

25 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

26 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

27 accedes   

v.（正式）加入( accede的第三人称单数 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职

参考例句：

• Successive without the first ordinal heir, by the 2nd order heir accedes. 没有第一顺序继续人继续的，由第二顺序继续人继续。 来自互联网
• Deng Xiaoping accedes and developed Mao Zedong this one thought. 邓小平则继承和发展了毛泽东这一思想。 来自互联网

28 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句