“Vietnam is seen as a country with impressive economic growth. So, it is good timing for people to return to Vietnam now to work and seize new opportunities, said Nguyen Huu Thai Hoa, a strategic manager from the FPT Stock Company in a recent interview granted to a VOV reporter.

MA. Nguyen Huu Thai Hoa was born in 1969 in HCM City. He graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada in 1995 and China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, China in 2007.

In 1997, Hoa began to work for multinational industrial conglomerate Schneider Electric (France) as Deputy Director of Schneider Vietnam. In 2005, he was appointed by Schneider (Hong Kong-China) as Industrial Quality Development Director in the Asia Pacific region.

In early 2008, Hoa returned to Vietnam to work as a strategic manager for the FPT Stock Company.

Reporter: Why did you abandon your managerial post at a big group abroad and return to work in Vietnam?

Hoa: All overseas Vietnamese wish to return to their homeland to contribute more to the nation. Moreover, I think, returning to work in Vietnam at the moment offers a good chance for me.

I used to work in many countries around the world, including Canada, France and Australia. Particularly, during my six-month working period in Hong Kong, I gained a better understanding of the Asian economy and Vietnam in particular.

Asia is currently capturing international attention for its dynamic economic development. Previously, all major research centres like R&D (Research and Development) centre are located in Europe or US but now many are headquartered in Asia. China is rolling out the red carpet for R&D.

Reporter: As an expert who had worked abroad for many years, did you see any difficulties lying ahead for you after returning to Vietnam?

Hoa: The biggest difficulty for international experts like us is mechanism-related issues, which has prevented us from mobilising all resources from the community both at home and abroad. We have just tapped some potential from overseas Vietnamese through their overseas remittance worth around US$8 billion a year. However, in my opinion, the major values of Vietnamese residents abroad is their brainpower and talent. Therefore, it is essential to revamp the mechanism for mobilising more resources for national development.

For the time being, it is impossible to say that everything looks rosy to me. I really hope that those overseas Vietnamese who want to contribute to the homeland would rather return to Vietnam and adapt themselves to the working environment as soon as possible. I think the homeland is always good earth for growth.

Reporter: Living abroad for years, you have experienced many developed economies. What is your assessment of the Vietnamese economy at present?

Hoa: Vietnam’s major advantages are its young labour force and political stability which has served as a driving force behind the process of national development. However, the Vietnamese economy still has its own limitations as it still depends a lot on manufacturing for export. Consequently, we need renewed thinking and creativity to make our own high-quality products.

Reporter: Thank you very much.

Vietnamnet/ VOV