VietNamNet Bridge – The “brain-drain” has become a very big
headache to Vietnam. A recent survey shows the relation between the brain-drain
and the kieu hoi (overseas remittance).
High quality personnel leave the country
Statistics show that about
400,000 intellectuals, of which 25 percent are Vietnamese students, are living
and working overseas.
A survey by IIE, an international
education institute showed that up to 60 or 70 percent of Vietnamese overseas
students intend to stay working in foreign countries after they finish the
university education in the countries. 90 percent of the students attend the
training courses with their own money, not with the funds provided by the
state.
Every year, about 80,000
Vietnamese workers go working abroad.
The Vietnamese intellectuals, the
students, who stay working in foreign countries after finishing schools and the
workers going abroad every year, can all be the sources of overseas remittance
to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese intellectual
community mostly gathers in the US, Western Europe, Russia and East Europe –
where there are developed economies. Here they can have high income and can
send money to Vietnam to their relatives to help them improve the living
standards.
Economists have pointed out the
relation between the brain-drain, or the leave of Vietnamese intellectuals and
the cash flow to Vietnam. In return for the decision to stay working in foreign
countries, overseas Vietnamese have made great contribution to the development
of the homeland via kieu hoi. Observers have reported a growing tendency of the
Vietnamese people community to make investment in the projects in the homeland.
The “intelligence” would “repatriate”
According to the HCM City
Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, in the last six years, from June 2005 to
June 2011, the number of Viet Kieu owned enterprises has increased by two folds
which have the total chartered capital of 37 trillion dong.
It is estimated that 500,000 Viet
Kieu visits the homeland every year, not only to meet their relatives, but also
seek the investment opportunities. Reports show that 52 percent of the kieu hoi
were injected in the Vietnamese real estate market in 2011.
A report by the World Bank
released in 2011 showed that Vietnam ranks the 16th in the world and the second
in South East Asia among the biggest overseas remittance receivers.
In 2001, only 1.75 billion dollars’
worth of kieu hoi were remitted to Vietnam, while the figure jumped to 9
billion dollars in 2011.
With the kieu hoi, Vietnamese
families have more money and favorable conditions to ensure high education for
their children. A lot of Vietnamese parents tend to send their children abroad
to prestigious universities.
At first, this could be seen as a
“brain drain movement,” which experts believe would do harm to the nation.
However, if looking at the issue more carefully, one would realize that the
presence of Vietnamese talented people in foreign countries does not always
mean that Vietnam loses its intelligence. In fact, the intelligence, in some
way or others, would come back to the homeland.
Every individual has the
aspiration of living and working in the environment most suitable to him. Viet
Kieu can make their contribution to the development of the homeland from
everywhere, no matter if they are in Vietnam or any other countries.
Therefore, turning the brain
drain into brain circulation, while trying to attract kieu hoi should be set up
as an important task for now.
In the first six months of 2012,
HCM City saw the decrease of 500 million dollars in kieu hoi in comparison with
the same period of the last year. However, the bad news could turn into the
driving force for Vietnam to change its viewpoint and policies about the brain
drain, so as to pave the way for the talented people and the source of foreign
currencies amounting to 7.26 percent of GDP in 2011 to return to the homeland/
Van Anh – Thien Thuat
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment