Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 3, 1994                   TAG: 9402030139
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HANOI, VIETNAM                                LENGTH: Medium

ON THE MARK FOR THE RUSH TO HANOI

Clinton said he has not made a final decision, but administration officials suggested he is on the brink of eliminating the ban.

"I'm ecstatic that we're getting close," said James Rockwell, a Hanoi-based consultant for several American companies.

He said U.S. firms would immediately begin to compete against foreign companies for contracts in Vietnam. Thirty-four U.S. companies have opened or soon will open offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon.

"It's been a long time coming, and we are thrilled," said Peter Ryder, president of Manolis and Company Asia Ltd., a U.S. real estate development and investment firm in Hanoi.

"It puts us in business," said Ryder, who is preparing to sign joint venture contracts with the Vietnamese worth $50 million for an office building and residential complex in Hanoi. He also plans to invest another $100 million in residential, office, sports and hotel complexes.

Virginia Foote, director of the Washington-based U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council, said American companies could participate in $6 billion in trade and up to $3 billion in investment this year.

The American business community here has crackled for months with speculation about a possible lifting of the embargo.

Four congressional delegations visited Vietnam in the past month alone, and the Senate has passed a nonbinding resolution urging the president to lift the embargo, in place since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.

A spokesman for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said the government would have no immediate comment on the report. But Hanoi has been eager to see sanctions end, as Vietnamese businesses also have much to gain from trade and investment with the United States.

Nguyen Quang A, chairman and chief executive officer of the 3C computer company, a designated dealer for Digital Equipment Corp., said 3C could expand its product line and boost sales with imports from the Massachusetts-based computer maker if the embargo is lifted.

"Some suppliers in the region or in Europe who . . . take advantage of the embargo would not be happy," he said.

Companies from South Korea, Japan, France and Germany are free to do business here, while Americans must wait on the sidelines.

Clinton has said he will not lift the embargo until he is satisfied Hanoi is cooperating fully in the effort to resolve cases of Americans still listed as missing in action from the war. A total of 2,238 Americans are listed as missing.

In response to increased cooperation, Clinton relaxed the embargo in September by letting U.S. companies bid for work on projects financed by international banks.