High demand for industrial investment consultancy

Phạm Ngọc Hải, Deputy Director of the Institute for Industry Policy and Strategy, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, speaks to Công Thương (Industry and Trade) newspaper on what should be done to further develop industrial investment consultancy in Việt Nam.

How do you evaluate the role of industrial investment consultancy in the present Vietnamese economy?

Consultancy in industrial investment is a very important activity in modern management nowadays, particularly in major and complicated projects that require different professional skills. It is no doubt that good management is a very important part in any project.

Different project categories require different types of investment consultancy services. For example, for the establishment of a new enterprise, the project owner needs the legal service on what paper documents are required, including how to write a business contract, or a consultancy contract and others.

For Việt Nam, we’re now in the course of deep international economic integration, so we need a lot of consultancy services, particularly in the field of industrial investment. Yet, the work of consultancy in this field remains rather weak. Adding to that, we’re now living with fast changing technology, which requires a huge investment fund. So, whether we want it or not we have to seek advice or support from outside. This is food for thought for Việt Nam to consider in the course of investment.

Do you think that lessons learned from other countries could be applied in Việt Nam?

Of course, Việt Nam could learn lessons from other countries, particularly from developed nations. In these countries, all consultancy companies have to meet a set of standards from either the Federal Government or local Governments.

Lessons learned from many countries show that consultancy activities which may lead to negative impacts on society or certain groups of people, including activities of lawyers, financial consultants, architects and others, they must require special licenses from competent authorised agencies.

Other consultancy activities which will not bring about negative impacts on people’s lives or health, like consultancy in the administrative procedures on investment licenses, business administration consultancy, they don’t require any special conditions.

Do you have any proposal to help industrial investment consultancy achieve its objectives?

Industrial investment consultancy is a new profession in Việt Nam, yet it is very important for the Vietnamese economy. In my opinion, there are four important measures.

The first measure is to have a good and workable institution. All consultancy companies have to operate in accordance with the rules of a market economy. They must be autonomous and be responsible for what they do.

Second, it is to improve professional skills for all people who work in the field of consultancy services. They should have a wide and comprehensive knowledge about the market economy.

Third, it is important to have a good system with reliable and high quality data.

And finally, it is to have a complete and suitable organisational structure to operate in a market economy. VNS