 A view of the The presence of young leaders in three Vietnamese localities that have notched up impressive economic governance rankings in an annual national survey this year could serve as both a magnet for investors and a litmus test for the leaders themselves, analysts say. The annual survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the US Agency for International Development rated all 63 provinces and centrally-governed cities in terms of ease of doing business, economic governance, and administrative reform efforts based on the polling of 8,093 domestic non-state companies and 1,609 foreign firms operating here. Interestingly, all three of the top provinces and cities have young new leaders close to the top currently being groomed for future positions. In Anh, who studied in The appointments of Anh and Nghi, who are both non-voting members of the powerful 175-member Party Central Committee, took place in the context of All eyes now would be on the localities where the young leaders are at the helm, analysts say. “I think we cannot say that Anh and Nghi were responsible for the successful rankings of their provinces as they have recently moved to their posts there,” said a foreign diplomat who declined to be named. “I think it is more likely that they were sent there because those provinces are doing fairly well so they will have something good to show for their stint there. “Nevertheless, I think that their presence there, together with the PCI rankings, will motivate foreign investors to consider locating their businesses there.” “Investment procedures in “The Elsewhere in Kien Giang, Edmund Malesky, PCI's lead researcher, said the central government’s ambitious plan to grant tourism-haven Phu Quoc Island special administrative region status on the lines of Hong Kong “is playing a role” in the high PCI ranking of the province, “That said, we survey all the firms in Kien Giang and not just Phu Quoc, so this can be considered more of a general policy change across the entire province,” he said. “Kien Giang did extremely well on three areas that the zone would directly affect: transparency, time costs, and reductions in informal charges.” Nghi was also appointed as vice mayor of Kien Giang last Friday, chiefly responsible for chalking out the blueprint to develop Phu Quoc. Meanwhile, Malesky called the success in Quang Ngai “a surprise”. “Firms praised Quang Ngai for transparent business information, pro-activity of the leadership, and dispute resolution institutions,” he said. Vo Van Thuong, 44, was installed as the chief of the provincial Party unit in 2011 and analysts say he should be credited with some of the success in Quang Ngai. A former head of the Central Youth Union, Thuong was invited last year for the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship in Analysts say that while not always the case, political leaders who are young and have national aspirations are often more likely to take an entrepreneurial approach to politics. “In Vietnam, such leaders are more likely to have engaged with international policy debates, while their desire to move up the political ranks provides them natural incentives to distinguish themselves from their peers,” Jonathan London, a Vietnam expert with the City University of Hong Kong, told Vietweek. Analysts say the major challenge of these leaders is the formal and informal institutional arrangements within the state that limit the efficiency, efficacy, and transparency of government. For some, the challenge also lies in the battle against the deep-seated public grievance against a political apparatus that has been plagued by nepotism and cronyism and not based on meritocracy. “They will have to go the extra mile to prove themselves, more so than other young leaders who do not have such famous fathers,” said Nguyen Minh Thuyet, an outspoken lawmaker who retired in 2011. “The public would warmly welcome leaders who exhibit genuine, demonstrated commitments to transparent and responsive government,” Thuyet said. “But the people also have the right to remain skeptical and they will be watching.” |
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