IFC 2001 Corporate Slideshow

1
Launching the Vietnam Private Sector Forum
Wolfgang Bertelsmeier, Special Representative,
Europe Public-Private Development
Workshop Paris, February 1-2, 2006
2
Vietnam Launching the Private Sector Forum
(PSF) The Setting

• Late 1980s Doi Moi
• 1996  The bloom is off the rose 
• Declining FDI
• Slow down of reform process
• Lower growth
• Mid-1997 Asia crisis
• Dec 1997 CG meeting Tokyo - IFC recommends
  dialogue Government-Private Sector
• Feb 1998 Prime Minister meets foreign investors
• Mid-1998 One day private sector meeting ahead of
  interim CG meeting
• Dec 1998 First IFC orchestrated PSF
• Dec 2000 Vietnam Business Forum

3
Vietnam Private Sector ForumEvolution

• IFC suggests dialogue at Tokyo CG meeting
• Prime Minister meets hundreds of foreign
  investors in free-flowing unstructured meeting
• Contradictory recommendations
• Requests for protection
• Conclusion high-level meetings with individual
  companies not very productive
• Government, donors and private sector ask IFC to
  organize Private Sector Forum
• To distill common concerns working through
  chambers of commerce and associations
• Setting up of PSF as part of CG with 3 parties
• Government
• Donors
• Private Sector

4
Vietnam Private Sector Forum 2000Evolution
(contd)

• Expanding the PSF to include domestic private
  sector
• Organizing working groups meeting monthly
• Banking
• Legal
• Infrastructure
• Manufacturing
• Planning a Secretariat for the PSF under IFC
  umbrella funded by foreign chambers of commerce
  and donors

5
Vietnam Private Sector Forum 2000

• PSF
• 
  

Every 3 months
Continually
Semi-annually

• Prime Minister
• Donors
• Private Sector

• Donors and Private Sector
• Meetings
• Chaired by IFC
• Sponsored by Embassy of CG
• Definition of agenda for PSF
• 2. Review, discussion and agreement on
  statements to be made at PSF

• Working Groups

Linked with relevant Ministries
Consultative Group Meetings
6
Vietnam Private Sector ForumChallenges Overcome

• Some opposition within Government
• Internal doubters within World Bank Group
• Some donors hesitating
• Some private sector fatigue
• Some chambers of commerce prefer bilateral
  contacts
• Domestic versus foreign investors
• Risk of overload on Government and donor agenda
  (e.g. demand for civil society forum)

7
Vietnam Private Sector ForumLessons

• Born in crisis situation
• Government, donors, foreign investors looking for
  improvements to accelerate investment
• Government genuinely interested
• Low hanging fruits, focus on tangible results
• Beginning with no road map, trial and error
• Part of the CG process
• Importance of working groups for impact on
  regulations legislation
• Importance of working through associations rather
  than individual companies
• Need for secretariat to ensure continuity

8
Vietnam Private Sector Forum Replicability?

• Sense of urgency or crisis to get started
• Commonality of main goals
• Readiness for dialogue and engagement by
• Government
• Private Sector
• Donors
• Low hanging fruits?
• Establish credibility of the approach
• Instead of once off sound off events, focus on
  continuity through associations working groups
• Secretariat

9
Cambodia Private Sector Forum

• 1990s Period of economic and political
  crisis with gradual beginning recovery
• 1999 Cambodian observers at Vietnam PSF
• 2000 ? Cambodian government asks IFC to
  help propose a Cambodian PSF
• ? Funding from Australia for PSF
  Secretariat