另外一個戰場 日韓商家逐鹿越南

The tale of a Vietnamese transgender entrepreneur has become the country’s biggest film hit — and sparked domestic debate about whether it plays to stereotypes. But Let Hoi Decide has made waves for another reason: it is co-produced by CJ E&M, the South Korean leisure group, which has burrowed to the heart of the Vietnam market.

一位越南變性人企業家的故事成爲該國最熱門的電影，並在國內引發了有關該故事是否合乎常理的辯論。但《Let Hoi Decide》引起轟動還有一個原因：這部電影是越南與韓國娛樂集團CJ E&M共同打造的，CJ E&M已深入越南市場的核心。

CJ’s cinematic coup is part of a stream of Japanese and South Korean investment in the country, amid goodwill that contrasts with the troubled relationship between Hanoi and Beijing. While anti-Chinese rioters ransacked foreign companies in Vietnam last year after maritime skirmishes between the countries, Seoul and Tokyo were quietly brandishing hard money and soft power.

CJ E&M在電影上大獲成功是日韓對越南衆多投資的一部分，這種友好與中越之間的不睦形成對比。去年，在中越爆發海上衝突後，反華暴徒洗劫了在越南的外國企業，而日韓卻在悄悄運用其硬通貨和軟實力的影響力。

Analysts say the push by the two east Asian economic leaders reflects a dovetailing of commercial and strategic interests that has a broader regional importance. While Hanoi wants to limit its dependence on Beijing, Japan and South Korea wish to tighten their embrace with the 10 countries of the Asean Southeast Asian grouping that are preparing — some say optimistically — to launch a single market of more than 500m people this year.

分析人士表示，這兩個東亞經濟領袖的舉動反映出商業和戰略利益的契合，會對地區產生更廣泛的影響。越南希望限制其對中國的依賴，而日韓希望加強其對東南亞國家聯盟（Asean，簡稱東盟）10國的接納，一些人樂觀地表示，今年東盟正準備啓動包括逾5億人的單一市場。

“In the past few years, most of the new foreign investment in Vietnam came from Korea and Japan,” said Nguyen Xuan Thanh, director of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program in Ho Chi Minh City. “And that is for both business and geopolitical reasons.”

“過去幾年，越南多數新外資來自韓國和日本，”胡志明市Fulbright Economics Teaching Program負責人Nguyen Xuan Thanh表示，“這既有商業原因，也有地緣戰略原因。”

The advances are visible in trends ranging from the extraordinary expansion of Samsung Electronics to the Ho Chi Minh City banners proclaiming the Vietnam-Japan co-operation to build a landmark urban rail network.

這一進展十分明顯，從三星電子(Samsung Electronics)非同尋常的擴張到胡志明市打出的橫幅，稱讚越南與日本合作修建地標性城市鐵路網絡。

Japan and South Korea are building on a long interest in a country notable for its cheap labour and 90m-strong consumer market. For Hanoi, there is a political imperative to draw more foreign investment because of structural economic problems such as bad debts and inefficient state companies, which have dragged Vietnam’s growth down from above 7 per cent a year before the financial crisis to 5.4 per cent in 2013.

在這個以廉價勞動力和9000多萬消費者市場而聞名的國家，日本和韓國正在構建長遠利益。對於越南而言，吸引更多外資有其政治必要性，因爲該國存在着壞賬和國企低效等結構性經濟問題，這些問題將越南的經濟增速從金融危機前的每年逾7%拉低至2013年的5.4%。

Fred Burke, a corporate lawyer in Ho Chi Minh City, said Vietnam looked “a lot like Thailand was 20 years ago” to Japanese and South Korean executives seeking a “long-term strategic partner they can work with”.

胡志明市公司律師弗雷德•伯克(Fred Burke)表示，對於尋求“能與之合作的長期戰略合作伙伴”的日本和韓國高管而言，越南看上去“很像20年前的泰國”。

One manifestation of that is Vietnam’s emergence as the second-biggest recipient of Japanese official development assistance in 2013, after Myanmar. Loans and grants to Hanoi — many of them for infrastructure projects, such as the gleaming international terminal at the city’s commercial airport — totalled $1.3bn, according to the OECD group of mostly wealthy nations.

一種表現是，2013年越南成爲日本官方開發援助的第二大接受國，僅次於緬甸。根據多數爲富國的經合組織(OECD)的數據，提供給越南的貸款和撥款總計13億美元，其中很多用於基礎設施項目，例如河內商業機場光彩熠熠的國際航站樓。

Direct investment by Japanese businesses in Vietnam more than tripled to $9bn between 2011 and 2014, compared with the previous four years, according to the Japan External Trade Organisation. South Korean investment in Vietnam in 2013 and last year totalled $2.6bn, almost a third higher than in the previous two years.

根據日本貿易振興機構(Japan External Trade Organisation)的數據，2011年至2014年，與之前4年相比，日本企業在越南的直接投資增長3倍多，至90億美元。2013年和去年，韓國在越南的投資總額爲26億美元，幾乎比之前兩年高出三分之一。

Notable Japanese corporate entrants in Vietnam include Haseko, the property developer, which is to start building a $17m rental flat complex in Hanoi. Aeon, Japan and Asia’s biggest retailer, opened two shopping centres in Vietnam last year and has bought stakes in two large local supermarket chains.

進入越南的知名日本企業包括房地產開發商Haseko，該公司將投資1700萬美元在河內建設一棟出租公寓樓。去年，日本及亞洲最大零售商永旺(Aeon)在越南開設了兩家購物中心，併購入越南兩家大型連鎖超市的股權。

Leading the charge for South Korea is Samsung. The electronics company has taken advantage of tax and regulatory incentives to open two mobile phone assembly plants and has started building factories for display panels, home appliances and electrical parts.

在越南引領投資趨勢的韓國企業是三星(Samsung)。這家電子集團利用稅收和監管激勵優勢開辦了兩家手機組裝廠，並開始建設顯示屏、家電和電子配件工廠。

Vietnam is unlikely to escape the dependence in its complex relationship with China, in which cultural, political and trade ties chafe against conflicts ranging from a 1979 border war to last year’s high-seas spat. But the surge by South Korea and Japan is an early sign of how regional relationships are also being shaped by a focus on foreign investment and trade that may grow stronger still if the Asean single market ever becomes reality.

在與中國的複雜關係中，越南不太可能擺脫對中國的依賴，雙方的文化、政治和貿易關係因各種衝突（從1979年的中越邊境戰爭到去年的公海紛爭）而變糟糕。但日韓的崛起是一個早期跡象，表明對外資和貿易的關注可能正影響着地區關係，如果東盟單一市場變成現實，這種關注可能會變得更爲強烈。