PwC helps fortify the local market

Ian Lydall, chairman of PwC Vietnam, marks the occasion by talking with VIR’s Linh Mai about what benefits the cooperation will bring to listed firms and what the firm will focus on in Vietnam.

For listed companies, how will they benefit from your support to the SSC and HNX?

Our support to the SSC and HNX will improve the operations of the securities market and the markets within which the listed companies operate.  More effective regulation will encourage investors to participate more in the markets and therefore listed companies will be able to raise capital more easily than before.

Besides the support agreement with SSC and HNX, what is PwC’s strategy in Vietnam and what is your focus here?

Our strategy in Vietnam is to uphold the values of the PwC global network and deliver quality services to all of our clients.  Our focus is to work with those clients that want to develop their businesses to higher standards, including adopting sustainable business models and good governance. 

We will continue to service leading state-owned enterprises, thriving local companies, our global multinational company clients and any other enterprises that we can add value to. The range of services we deliver will continue to be across the spectrum of assurance, advisory and tax and legal.

How will you expand business in this country to support enterprises, as well as private enterprises to overcome this challenging time?

We have a focus on deepening our service provision to businesses that are more challenged in the current economic climate.  Our support includes advice on how to finance their operations, getting appropriate balancing between capital and debt, strengthening internal controls and reducing the possibility of fraud, streamlining and creating more efficient processes and many other areas in which we can help businesses improve their profitability.

PwC has built relationships with some ministries in Vietnam, financial institutions, SOEs and SMEs. In the future, how will you help Vietnamese's ministries in term of legal framework such as tax policy to improve business climate?

For many years PwC has contributed to the development of regulations in Vietnam by meeting government officials to discuss our ideas.  In those meetings we give our perspective on how laws and regulations could be changed to improve the business environment and we draw on PwC experiences in other countries to promote possible changes.  In particular we have done this in the areas of independent audit and taxation, but also in other fields.

As an investment advisor, how do you view the current situation of Vietnam's investment climate? What are the current advantages of the country and what Vietnam should change to improve its attractiveness?

A few years ago, Vietnam was one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world.  Since 2008, however, the economic troubles in Vietnam and the problems experienced by potential investors overseas have combined to constrain Vietnam's ability to win foreign direct and foreign indirect investment.  Now Vietnam is in a very competitive environment for foreign investment, competing against not only the BRIC countries, but also other emerging economies in South East Asia, for example Indonesia and Malaysia.

But the underlying advantages of Vietnam remain, including its population of nearly 90 million people, a young and energetic population, its geographic positioning and its agricultural and mineral resources.  As Vietnam restructures its economy, which comprises the restructuring of the state-owned sector and the banking sector, it will be seen as a more attractive investment destination once again.