ASIA NEWS, Updated Updated August 23, 2012, 8:00 p.m. E.T.
By JAMES HOOKWAY
The arrest this week of Vietnamese banking and soccer mogul Nguyen Duc Kien comes amid a growing backlash against Vietnam’s wealthy tycoons, as the country struggles with an economy that is going from bad to worse.
Some of Vietnam’s Communist leaders have never been entirely comfortable with their country’s pro-market reforms. Waves of liberalization have often been followed by periods of inaction.
Analysts now worry that combating politicians and a hostile public might thwart the reforms needed to recapture the stellar growth rates that once made the country one of world’s most sought-after emerging markets.
European Pressphoto Agency
Banking and soccer mogul Nguyen Duc Kien, center, spoke with players at a match in Hanoi last month.
Plans for privatizations have stalled as bad debts have rippled through the banking system. Meanwhile, top executives at some state-owned enterprises have been arrested and charged with mismanaging state resources after the global financial crisis sent many businesses into a financial tailspin, exposing the shortcomings of Vietnam’s bid to catch up with its neighbors after decades of war and Marxist economic planning.
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