Competitive Neutrality: Challenges on the Application for Vietnam

Abstract

The growing importance of competitive neutrality in the national and global market-place has given rise to concerns about how to ensure a level playing field -where state-owned enterprises and private entities compete. The paper aims to clarify the issue of competitive neutrality in general and current challenges faced by Vietnam policy makers committed to the level playing field between public and private business enterprises in particular. It is also to serve as an inspiration to governments that confront similar challenges and a contribution to establish the competition regime based on principles of competitive neutrality. This paper also aims at establishing a comprehensive overview of Vietnam's Competition environment and Competition Law as well as presenting a representative picture of Vietnam's State-owned enterprises and challenges for the application of competitive neutrality in Vietnam, from that recommendations will be made. It is carried out as a study in the field of competitive neutrality that promotes the efforts of governments and policy makers committed to the level playing field between public and private business enterprises.Research for this paper was funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs under the SECO / WTI Academic Cooperation Project, based at the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern, Switzerland. SECO working papers are preliminary documents posted on the WTI website (www.wti.org) and widely circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment. These papers have not been formally edited. Citations should refer to a "SECO / WTI Academic Cooperation Project" paper with appropriate reference made to the author(s). The growing importance of competitive neutrality in the national and global marketplace has given rise to concerns about how to ensure a level playing field -where stateowned enterprises and private entities compete. The paper aims to clarify the issue of competitive neutrality in general and current challenges faced by Vietnam policy makers committed to the level playing field between public and private business enterprises in particular. It is also to serve as an inspiration to governments that confront similar challenges and a contribution to establish the competition regime based on principles of competitive neutrality. This paper also aims at establishing a comprehensive overview of Vietnam's Competition environment and Competition Law as well as presenting a representative picture of Vietnam's State-owned enterprises and challenges for the application of competitive neutrality in Vietnam, from that recommendations will be made. It is carried out as a study in the field of competitive neutrality that promotes the efforts of governments and policy makers committed to the level playing field between public and private business enterprises.Research for this paper was funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs under the SECO/WTI Academic Cooperation Project, based at the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern, Switzerlan...