The "experts" we write of are usually foreign to Vietnam. They include Overseas Vietnamese (called "Vietkieu" in the language of Vietnam), citizens of regional countries in Asia, Europeans and Americans. Some live in Vietnam. Many are occasional visitors. They sell their services to the unwary and create a lot of resentment to doing business in Vietnam. They write of their experiences and instruct others how to accomplish what they are unwilling or not able to complete themselves.

Foreign investors are heard to complain that Vietnam is a "sink-hole" into which money must be poured. Even Gary Trudeau wrote of Vietnam in Doonsbury in those terms:

Boopsie - So what's your friend doing in Vietnam?

BD - Well, he's involved in some sort of joint venture. Apparently you can't really do business there unless you have a Vietnamese partner. Basically the arrangement is you pour in a lot of money and your partner secures all the necessary permits.

Boopsie - Permits to do what?

BD - To pour in more money. It sort of reminds me of the war.

They say they have been to Vietnam "many" times. Question them hard and find they may have been here as infrequently as two times in the past year.

They say they know "everybody." Usually they claim the ability to "get you to see the Prime Minister." Ask for references, the name AND contact numbers, of the past two people they got "in," and listen to the excuses why THAT information is privileged.

"Experts" speak of the need to "be flexible" in payments as the "true Asian" way of doing business. Ask the "expert" to provide you with a chart of organization of the industry, ministry and approval authorities necessary for making the decision you are keen to receive. Don't be surprised when they do not. Do not be surprised to hear their excuse why they can not or will not. If a chart of organization is supplied, it will have tens of names. Don't be afraid to ask which among them will receive the payment and make the decision in your favor.

Don't be afraid to ask, because you WILL NOT make any such payment. It is illegal to make such payments not only in your home country, it is also illegal in Vietnam.

HANOI, June 30, 1996 (Reuters) - Vietnam's Communist Party Secretary General Do Muoi said on Sunday corruption would be rooted out and that no matter who the offenders were they would be severely punished -- even with the death penalty.

"I think this is a kind of disease of government," Muoi told reporters during a break in the ruling party's landmark congress. "This is a disease that can only be cured by the people." "They (the offenders) will be severely punished, even being shot dead...no matter what position the people hold," he added.

Conviction of misappropriating State property (giving or accepting a bribe) in Vietnam as of May 1997 of as little as US$ 450 is now punishable by a mandatory imprisonment of not less than two years. Life imprisonment or a sentence of death will apply to those who steal more than US$45,000.

The so-called experts offer to prove their contact-making ability by making appointments at the deputy-minister-level authority. Sometimes they even arrange "deep-discount deluxe" hotel rooms. Don't be fooled.

You can make your own appointments. If you have the name and address of the official you wish to see, write to him or her by mail or fax. You will spend a long time on the phone, and you may become frustrated from making so many overseas calls. But that is the way the "experts" get the appointments.

The hotel industry is presently suffering from over-capacity, yet more large hotels are a-building. Most expat or Vietkieu businesses are given an automatic 30% discount from "standard" rack rates for all room referrals. If your "expert" offers you less than 30% off, ask him/her who is keeping the balance. Be more aware: "Deluxe" is the designation for the cheapest rooms in most of the new hotels in Vietnam.

Experts who claim substantial business success in Vietnam need to be asked about their prior experience that has given them their ability to achieve such success. Be critical in your inquiry, and wear rubber soled shoes. The floor may get hard to walk on with the slippery answers they will offer. One 60 year-old "expert" claims to have been in a "high political connection" with the Diem regime! Diem is the guy who banned dancing in the south while his sister-in-law (called the Dragon Lady) rivaled Imelda Marcos shopping for shoes. When Diem was assassinated in 1963, the 60 year-old was then 27. In a land that reveres "age as equal to wisdom," don't fail to ask that "expert" to name the exact "high political position" he held 33 years before. Do not be surprised if his recent experience is equally void of solid, international transactional or political success.

Some of these "experts" were among the first foreigners to enter Vietnam after 1975. Others have been ideological supporters of the "communist" movement and growth of Vietnam since before 1975. Don't fail to ask these "experts" how their own international, transactional business skills were honed in the economic and political vacuum that existed in all of Vietnam from the 1940s (when the Japanese invaded Vietnam (stopping major French development), until 1992 when private, foreign investment began to first blossom.

Our backgrounds include decades of Fortune "100" corporate experience as senior management and legal service providers. We have a combined staff experience of more than 100 years in direct work with the people of Vietnam. We have lived and worked in Vietnam since January 1994. The US embargo was lifted in February 1994. We have decades of international, transactional business experience to include buying and selling companies, technology transfers, contract negotiations and drafting. We have decades of experience in business and political work in America, Asia and Europe. Our principals are recognized business and legal leaders in the regions of America and Asia. Our principal, Peter N. Sheridan, is listed in Who's Who In American Law, and Who's Who in the Asian Pacific Rim.

We have met all the people you need to know. However, we are able to easily make your appointments for no more significant reasons than (i) we have their names and current contact numbers, and (ii) we are local and can follow-up as is often needed with a personal, preliminary visit.

We will work with you to take the mystery out of doing business in Vietnam. We will help you understand both the chart of organization and the path of decision making in your industry here.

Unlike the cartoonist and similarly skilled "experts," we know that foreign investors can successfully conduct business without a Vietnamese partner. We can cost-effectively guide the committed investor to making an informed and researched decision.

Establishing any business is time consuming and expensive. We are information providers with significant experience in forming and sustaining businesses in Vietnam. We can help you establish your business here. As you seek to make the decision to invest or not, and then obtain a return on your investment, please do not abandon your conservative, strong business principals. Do NOT listen to sharp talkers who tell you with false authority that "doing Vietnamese business is just different." That has not been our experience. It need not be yours.

This is a developing nation. While it is a very poor country with weak infrastructure, Vietnam has a very high potential. Success here requires both patience and an understanding of the vast cultural differences. It is a good place to get into an emerging market that has realistic forecasts of 9% to 10% annual growth for the next five years. Overall gross domestic investment is expected to average 15% to 16% through year 2000. Average inflation to year 2000 is likely to be 10% to 11% per year.

Widening trade deficits are forecast, with imports continuing to grow faster than exports. But the main expansion is expected to be in intermediate and capital goods. Some industries, such as sugar processing, may soon be foreclosed to foreign investors.

The government is indeed stable. The country is a good place to explore, and then make an investment decision. Pay cautious attention to which "expert" you rely upon, however.