In the ancient city of Hue in Thua Thien-Hue Province, a dozen projects involving residential areas and tourist and greenery parks are left only half-complete after several years of construction. Examples include the 199-ha urban area in An Dong Ward, the 32-ha urban area in An Tay Ward, the 84-ha Xuan Phu Urban Area and the 31-ha Dong Nam Thuy An.

Moreover, none of the 31 hotel and entertainment park projects licensed since 2003 along the Hoi An-Dien Ban coastline in Quang Nam Province has been finished.

This practice has also caused great losses to economic zones in the central region, from Thua Thien-Hue to Khanh Hoa Province. The Chan May-Lang Co Economic Zone in Thua Thien-Hue houses 30 projects in tourism, services and industrial production, with registered capital of US$1.8 billion. However, only half of these projects have been fully realised. The rest remain undone.

The provincial authority of Quang Nam has licensed 41 investment projects with a total registered capital of $1.9 billion in Chu Lai Economic Zone. So far, however, only 24 projects with total investment of $320 million – or 16 per cent of the total registered capital, have became operational.

The same situation exists in the Dung Quat Economic Zone in Quang Ngai Province, where the country’s first oil refinery will be brought into operation early next year. Of the 12 foreign-invested projects in Dung Quat, only 2 projects, or 8 per cent of the total capital in this economic zone, have become operational.

To minimise the waste of land in these economic zones, the provincial authorities have issued strong measures. Since 2007, Quang Nam Province has revoked 31 investment licences. Thua Thien-Hue has revoked 29 licences and over 1,000 ha of land. Da Nang and Phu Yen have taken similar action.

Local layoffs on the horizon

The world financial crisis has affected Viet Nam’s labour market, resulting in possible cuts to staff in the near future.

Economists have warned that some key sectors including finance, real estate, tourism and information technology (IT) may reduce their workforces next year.

The number of available jobs in these industries will decrease, allowing enterprises to use stricter recruitment policies to fill open positions.

A human resource consultant has said the country’s financial sector has been hit hard by the recent collapse of a number of international banks.

According to figures from the Ministry of Finance, the financial services industry will face a shortage of 13,500 workers in 2010, including 5,000 employees in securities; 5,000 in auditing; 3,000 in insurance; and 500 in asset-appraisal. But the forecast may have to be reviewed in line with recent developments in the market.

Pham Ngoc Tuan, general director of the Sai Gon Postal Corp., said the IT sector would also face job cuts. Tuan expects large and medium-sized companies to shrink their workforce by 30 per cent.

The construction, automobile, tourism, services and real estate industries have already been heavily affected by the financial crisis.

Pham Cong Danh, president of the management board of Thien Thanh Trading and Construction Ltd Co, said: "We have temporarily stopped recruiting manpower because we need to recalculate recruitment costs carefully to come up with the best investment strategy for human resources."

The tourism sector faces similar challenges, said a travel agent from the HCM City-based Saigontourist Holdings Co. He added many clients have financial problems and have decided to cancel their travel plans.

Nguyen Thi Minh Tam, director of the Navigos marketing and communications group, was quoted by Viet Nam News Agency as saying that with the world economy in the poor state it’s in, enterprises must be careful in who they recruit.

Choosing the right candidate is more important than picking those meeting 70 per cent of requirements, she said.