In a country racing toward modernization, few headlines stir public imagination like the promise of a $61 billion high-speed railway linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Recently, such a proposal emerged—not from the government, but from a private Vietnamese company stepping into the spotlight with an audacious claim: to outpace the national plan and reshape Vietnam’s transport future.
But as Cuong Dang, former CEO of Forbes Vietnam, argues in this provocative analysis, beneath the grand vision lies a calculated distraction. This isn’t a story about infrastructure. It’s a story about power, pressure, and the lengths a troubled conglomerate will go to regain control of its narrative.
What looks like a bold leap for Vietnam may in fact be a strategic smokescreen—one designed to stall scrutiny, sway public sentiment, and buy time amid a deepening financial storm.
Here’s the original post on his LinkedIn page.
“Vietnam’s $61B Railway Fantasy Is a Corporate Smoke Bomb
A few weeks ago, a Vietnamese private company proposed a $61 billion high-speed railway connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City — a massive project that would supposedly leap ahead of the government’s own national plan.
On paper, it sounds like ambition on overdrive.
In reality, it looks a lot more like a corporate smoke bomb — a strategic distraction wrapped in nationalism.
Let’s be clear: this is not about building trains.
It’s about buying time, freezing scrutiny, and resetting power in the middle of mounting financial pressure.
The company behind the proposal is tied to a conglomerate that’s overleveraged, overstretched, and increasingly under fire. Its flagship EV business has posted billion-dollar losses. Its stock has tanked. Its vision of becoming “Vietnam’s Tesla” is quietly unraveling.
And when that kind of narrative breaks down, there are two options:
Shrink quietly. Or go nuclear with spectacle.
This is spectacle. The kind that makes ministries hesitate, media pivot, and creditors back off — at least temporarily.
By positioning itself as the private savior of Vietnam’s rail future, the company regains:
- Relevance it was losing.
- Leverage it desperately needs.
- And symbolic protection — because who wants to be the official who shuts down a $61B “nation-building” project?
It’s a play we’ve seen in other markets: Use scale and patriotism to stall pressure, delay accountability, and reposition the narrative.
The strategy is risky. If the state leans in too far — subsidizing land, soft loans, or credibility — it risks signaling that Vietnam rewards hype over discipline. But if it publicly dismisses the proposal, it looks like it’s turning its back on ambition.
The better path is clear: test it. Scrutinize it.
Don’t fall for the flag-waving. Don’t ignore it either.
Vietnam’s next era will be defined not just by what gets built — but by how power gets framed, and who gets to define “national interest.”
Because sometimes, a $61 billion proposal isn’t a leap forward.
It’s a runway out of crisis.”
Read original post on LinkedIn
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Source: Vietnam Insider