News

June 03, 2008

Olympus Pacific Has Several Options Ahead, But A Merger With Zedex Would Crown Everything

By Charles Wyatt

David Seton the Kiwi boss of Canadian listed Olympus Pacific Minerals is very happy to be operating in Vietnam. And who would not be? It may still be a one-party communist state, but it is one of south-east Asia's fastest-growing economies and has set its sights on becoming a developed nation by 2020. It is difficult to know when a country qualifies as developed and Vietnam has a remarkable history, but things are definitely moving in the right direction, pushed by a young middle class generation which has grown up since war devastated the country. When north and south Vietnam became unified in 1976 this followed more than three decades of war against Japan, France and the US. It is amusing to note that after an experience like that the Vietnamese categorise the US as the most ineffective troops they fought.

Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation in December 2007, but there is still a vast big gap in wealth between town and country as in China. No longer wedded to orthodox Communist philosophy it has been reinventing itself as a market economy. Geography, once a curse, is now a distinct blessing, given its location in the dynamic south east Asia region. Vietnam’s leaders appear to have taken the decision to turn the country into an investor friendly environment. Restrictions on foreign...