Hunger for business tempts US back to scene of defeat

WITH reverberations comparable to an exploding bomb, US President Bill Clinton's announcement of the lifting of the 19-year-old trade embargo on Vietnam hit the streets in Ho Chi Minh City before the start of the business day yesterday.

From cycle-taxi drivers to shop owners, from bustling pedestrians to top floor boardrooms the questions were all the same: what impact will it have and how best to prepare for it? Inside the sparkling new Omni Saigon Hotel, where the paint has barely had a chance to dry following its opening three days ago, general manager Dominique Nordmann is celebrating his timing and planning his future strategy.

''I'd give the impact of the announcement at 7.2 on the Richter Scale,'' said Mr Nordmann who is predicting 70 per cent occupancy within a matter of months.

His Wharf-owned company has no equity in the joint venture operation between Japan and Vietnam, but is responsible for its management and marketing. This is the first time the Hong Kong-based Omni group, which owns three hotels in Hong Kong and one in Singapore, has played such a role, according to Mr Nordmann.

Ground-breaking for the 250-room executive-style hotel was 18 months ago, but it was not built on speculation of the embargo being lifted, Mr Nordmann said.

Local lore has it that the hotel is built on the site of the former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters operated by the US before Saigon was overrun by the North Vietnamese.

''Let's face it, the rest of the world has been doing business here for a long time. But the Americans will be a welcome addition.'' He said the improvement in the US economy would create added business pressure to go into the Vietnamese market, seen as a potential labour pool and a country rich in resources, particularly oil.