Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 11, 1995 TAG: 9503130042
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sixteen Vietnamese leaders spent Friday journeying from a noisy machine shop in Botetourt County to the high-tech control room of Appalachian Power Co. in Roanoke.
The visitors, led by Energy Minister Thai Phung Ne, were nearly midway through a 10-day U.S. trade mission to find trading partners and solicit foreign investment to modernize their country.
"Roughly everything stopped in 1975" when communist North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam to end the Vietnam War, said a foreign relations officer who asked not to be identified. "We have not had much new technology."
Vietnam has estimated it needs $40 billion to $50 billion worth of new roads, power plants, communication systems and other infrastructure. Thirteen months ago, the United States lifted a nearly 20-year trade embargo against the country of 73 million people, citing improvement in the Hanoi government's accounting for missing U.S. servicemen.
Apco and the law firm of Woods, Rogers and Hazlegrove were hosts for the delegation's visit to the Roanoke area.
Group members stopped Friday at Connex Pipe Systems in Botetourt County, Caterpillar heavy-equipment dealer Carter Machinery Co. in Salem, and Apco and the law firm, both in downtown Roanoke.
The visitors seemed to react favorably to what they saw. They took snapshots and videotapes and exchanged business cards with company officials. Carter's oil-analysis laboratory for monitoring vehicle performance so impressed Nguyen Nhac that he obtained permission to send Carter a sample. Nguyen Nhac is vice minister of the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment, Vietnam's highest authority over foreign investment.
Because Caterpillar has opened a Vietnam dealership, Carter was included in the tour to show the Vietnamese what services such an operation can provide, said Kenneth Laughon, Carter's president.
Connex hopes to sell custom piping to Vietnam, said manager of projects J.J. Sweeney. Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove hopes to advise clients on foreign trade matters.
"The visit was successful," said William Poff, of the law firm.
But the delegation's arrival piqued resentment among Vietnamese living in the United States about establishing full ties with this country. A demonstration involving 40 Roanoke-area Vietnamese and members of a statewide Vietnamese community group sprang up outside the Asian-French Cafe in downtown Roanoke on Thursday, where the visitors had been scheduled to eat dinner.
The rally's message of restraint failed to reach its target, however. The reception was moved to the private Jefferson Club when the possibility of the protest arose.
The delegation altered its schedule again Friday. It did not give a planned 51/2-hour presentation to the business community about investment options in Vietnam so it could start the industry tour earlier. The group was running behind schedule to get to New York, session organizers said.
by CNB