President Obama: Thank you.
Zin chào.
(applause)
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Well, it's wonderful to be
here in Ho Chi Minh City.
Please have a seat.
I just had the opportunity
to visit the
Jade Emperor Pagoda.
And I think going from a
100-year-old sacred temple
to this 21st century
Dreamplex is I think a
wonderful expression of the
evolution that's taken place
here in Vietnam -- a country
that honors its history, but
is also boldly racing
towards the future.
And that's also the
story of this city.
This is a city on the move.
And we could see as we
were traveling in from the
airport all the activity
that's currently taking place.
And I'm not just talking
about the traffic --
(laughter)
-- although I do think it
might be easier to be on a
motorbike than a motorcade.
(laughter)
But this city, like this
country, is full of energy.
You can see it in the
skyscrapers shooting above
the horizon and the shops
that are springing up at
every corner.
You can spot it online,
where tens of millions of
Vietnamese are connecting
with each other and with
the world.
And you can feel it here at
DreamPlex, where ideas are
becoming a reality.
I just had the chance to
see some of those ideas in
action -- young people who
are making things happen.
I saw a virtual game that
can help people recover from
nerve injuries, to a machine
that lets your smartphone
control a laser-cutter --
although you have to be
careful with the
laser-cutter where you point it.
(laughter)
But some of this energy may
be due to your famous
cà phê trúng.
That stuff is
strong, I understand.
But the real driver of
Vietnam's growth, and the
engine of Ho Chi Minh
City, is the spirit of
entrepreneurship -- the
spirit that brings us
here today.
And I see it everywhere I
travel all around the world.
I meet people -- and
especially young people,
like the three that we're
about to meet -- who are
eager to strike out on their
own, start something new,
and shape their
own destinies.
Many want to do more than
just create a great new
appropriate for a phone.
They want to contribute to
their communities and help
people live better lives.
And that's what
entrepreneurship is all about.
It's building businesses --
making a profit, hopefully.
But it's also about creating
good jobs, and developing
new products, and devising
ways to serve others.
Entrepreneurship is also
the fuel for prosperity that
puts rising economies
on the path to success.
It's what gives young people
like so many of you the
chance to channel your
energy and your passion into
something that is
bigger than yourselves.
And it allows us to come
together across countries
and cultures to solve some
of the world's
greatest challenges.
Of course, being an
entrepreneur is not easy.
It's not easy in the United
States; it's not easy here
in Vietnam; it's not easy
anyplace in the world.
It can be tough
to get started.
It's hard to access capital.
It's hard to get the skills
that you need to run a business.
You might not always have
the mentors and the networks
that can help guide
you along the way.
And it can be especially
difficult for women, for
others who traditionally are
not viewed as being at the
center of business life in a
country, haven't had all the
access to the same
opportunities.
So we've got to tap all the
talent that's out there.
Just because you are born
poor does not mean you
should not be able
to start a business.
Just because you don't
look like the traditional
businessman doesn't mean you
can't make a great product
or deliver a great service.
And that's why DreamPlex
is so important.
It's not only a home for
digital entrepreneurs like you.
It's also a place where you
can share ideas and work
together and build a
community that supports
each other.
And incubators like this
allow Vietnam, alongside its
emphasis on
entrepreneurship, to see
more startups happening
in this country than
ever before.
Recently, in one year alone,
the funding for startups
doubled in this country.
And we're seeing major
acquisitions, like Fossil
Group's takeover Misfit
Wearables, a Vietnamese
company that makes devices
like fitness trackers.
We're seeing
Vietnamese-Americans who are
coming here to start new
ventures -- and that shows a
strong bond between the
United States and Vietnam.
And the world is
taking notice.
A leading global venture
capital firm called 500
Startups just launched a $10
million fund here in Ho Chi
Minh City.
Next month at our Global
Entrepreneurship Summit --
something that I've been
hosting now for several
years -- I'll welcome eight
Vietnamese entrepreneurs to
Silicon Valley, so that they
can learn from some of the
best entrepreneurs and
startups and venture
capitalists in the world.
And your success sends a
message to global investors
about this country's
incredible potential
for innovation.
Hopefully it also
encourages other Vietnamese
entrepreneurs to chase that
new great idea and start
that new company, which
will continue to fuel an
ever-expanding
Vietnam economy.
I'm here today because the
United States is committed
to being a partner
as you grow.
With the Peace Corps coming
to Vietnam for the first
time, our volunteers
are going to help more
Vietnamese learn English --
the language that so often
is used in the
global economy.
With programs like our Young
Southeast Asian Leaders
Initiative, we're helping
give thousands of young
people across Vietnam the
skills and networks they
need to turn their
ideas into action.
With our U.S.-ASEAN Connect
Initiative, we're matching
American investors with
Vietnamese entrepreneurs in
areas like clean energy.
With the women's
entrepreneurship center
we're going to open here in
Vietnam -- WECREATE is what
we're going to call it --
we'll help empower the next
generation of women
business owners.
And if we really want to
encourage entrepreneurship
and innovation, I should
mention that we need to move
ahead with the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, because TPP
will not only let us sell
more of our goods to each
other and bring our
economies closer together,
it will accelerate economic
reforms here in Vietnam,
boost your economic
competitiveness, open up new
markets not only for large
companies but also for small
and medium-sized businesses.
It will raise labor and
environmental standards, and
it will improve business
conditions so that
entrepreneurs like
you can thrive.
So my message to all the
entrepreneurs here today is
that I believe in you,
America believes in you, and
we're going to keep
investing in your success.
Ultimately, it's the
inventors and dreamers,
people like those that I
just met, those that we'll
hear from soon, and all of
you in the audience who are
going to shape Vietnam's
future for decades to come.
So I'm looking forward
to hearing from these
outstanding young leaders.
Thank you very much.
Cam on.
(applause)
So I'm just going to
introduce very quickly these
outstanding young
businesspeople who are
leading the way
here in Vietnam.
We invited them here to give
us some of their thoughts
about what would make it
easier for them to start
their businesses and to
continue to nurture the
startups that they're
involved with.
The first is Khoa Pham, who
is the director of Legal and
Corporate at
Microsoft Vietnam.
We have Le Hoang Uyen
Vy, who is the founder of
Adayroi, which is aiming
to become the Amazon
of Vietnam.
And we have Do Thi Thuy
Hang, who's the vice
president of Seedcom,
which invests in
Vietnamese companies.
So please give them a big
round of applause, and we'll
start our conversation.
(applause)
So, Vy, let's
start with you.
And tell us -- it sounds
like you started being
interested in business
at a very young age.
VY: Good evening,
Mr. President.
And good evening, everyone.
First of all, I'd like
to say thank you to the
Vietnamese and U.S.
governments for organizing
such a wonderful event.
My name is Vy, and I
graduated from Georgetown
University in 2009,
majoring in finance.
Actually, I have a passion
for technology when I was
in school.
When I was 13, I decided
to start my own web
design company.
And I love the idea of
connecting buyers and
sellers to an online
platform, just like eBay
or Amazon.
But at the moment, I was so
young and I couldn't start a
formal business.
And therefore, after my
college graduation, I
decided to come back to
Vietnam and started -- an
e-marketplace selling
fashion items.
And luckily, after five
years, we became one of the
top destination for
fashion lovers in Vietnam.
And we got acquired by the
biggest conglomerate
in Vietnam.
And right now I'm
running Adayroi.com.
Basically, we're the
Amazon of Vietnam.
We sell everything from
electronics to even
groceries online.
And our goal is to bring
safe and high-quality
products at affordable price
to every family in Vietnam.
President Obama:
That's great.
Now, you look very good.
Is this some of your fashion
that you can sell online?
(laughter)
Is that like you can buy the
necklace and the earrings?
VY: They are available
on Adayroi.com.
(laughter)
President Obama: So if
you're looking for a
good deal --
(laughter.)
Excellent.
And, Hang, you started
out as an entrepreneur.
Now you're an
investor as well.
Tell us what have been the
challenges that you've met.
And there have been some
special challenges about
being a woman entrepreneur
and investor here in Vietnam.
HANG: Mr. President, I am
glad to be here as well.
I guess let's take
it back a little bit.
I came back to Vietnam five
years ago after nine years
in the States.
So America is truly
my second home.
And when I came back it was
basically because of my very
close ties with Vietnam.
My family has been here; my
hometown is here; a lot of
people here.
Because the environment has
been very supporting, I've
learned a lot from
previous generations.
And certainly because I have
seen successful role models
here, that's
why I came back.
I never thought that being a
female entrepreneur would be
a disadvantage here in the
local market because, from
my experience and
observations about the area,
I'm very proud to say that
in Vietnam women are treated
equally and given a
lot of opportunity.
So whether we try or not is
all stuff within ourselves.
And we see a lot of women
entrepreneurs in the room
as well.
Le Hoang Uyen Vy, who
you just mentioned,
she's incredible.
She's not an entrepreneur,
per se, but she has done a
terrific job here
in Ho Chi Minh City.
We all love her.
(laughter and applause)
So if the world was run by
women -- and I'm thinking
the United States election
this year -- it would be a
better place.
Like you always say.
You always say that.
President Obama: I do.
(laughter)
So what kind of businesses
are you looking to invest in
at this point?
HANG: Vietnam is among
the top exporters of
agricultural products
in the world.
Yet there are a lot of
untapped opportunities
in agriculture.
And it is a very low-tech,
low-productivity sector.
And at Seedcom, we've worked
with a lot of companies
across retail,
technology and logistics.
But the project that we're
most excited about at the
moment is in agriculture.
We apply technology to
traditional farming -- stuff
like tracking automation.
Basically we bring the
product all the way to end
user at a higher value.
So that is I guess the
next wave in innovation in
Vietnam, where entrepreneurs
and investors come together,
using technology to tackle
very traditional industries.
President Obama: So, Pham,
you were born here, moved to
the States when you were 11.
Is that right?
PHAM: That's right.
President Obama: And got
your education there, worked
in Washington, ended up at
a very impressive startup
called Microsoft.
(laughter)
And so now you're here
representing Microsoft in Ho
Chi Minh City.
Tell us about, what are the
opportunities that Microsoft
is seeing?
And how you think U.S.
companies can most
effectively interact with
Vietnamese businesspeople
and startups
and entrepreneurs.
PHAM: Well, welcome to
Vietnam, Mr. President.
I know it's early morning
in Washington, D.C. --
President Obama: I'm
getting over the jetlag.
PHAM: -- so I'm
glad you're awake.
(laughter)
So I returned to Vietnam
for the same reason that my
parents had when they took
me out of Vietnam as a young
boy, and that is that
they wanted me to have an
opportunity for
a better life.
And we found
that in the U.S.
And after 35 years living
in the U.S., I decided to
return to Vietnam to give
the same opportunities and
to make a difference to the
young people of Vietnam --
maybe some sitting
here today.
And so the way I look at
my return is that Microsoft
gives me the opportunity
to make a difference, to
improve lives for people, to
produce the technology, as
well as to accelerate the
development of the country
through technology by
the improvement of our
IT infrastructure.
So I see a lot of investors,
young entrepreneurs, and the
spirit of entrepreneurship
here in Vietnam.
And that is the reason
I returned to Vietnam.
President Obama: So, Vy, you
were mentioning how you want
to be the Amazon of Vietnam.
Tell me about the challenges
you have in trying to build
a digital platform for
commerce here in Vietnam,
and what makes it different
trying to develop that here
than it might be in the
United States, where,
obviously, there's more
digital platforms
and penetration.
I'm assuming that,
particularly if you want to
reach rural areas, that some
of the logistical challenges
are different.
So tell us what has been
some of the hardest aspects
of building on your vision,
and how do you think both
the Vietnamese government,
or the United States
government, or companies
that are interested in
working with you or other
entrepreneurs -- how they
can be most helpful.
Where do you see the
biggest roadblocks?
VY: -- about bringing
convenience and more
lifestyle to the
Vietnamese people.
Imagine that working moms
have a job from 9:00 to
6:00, and then after 6:00
p.m., she has to rush to the
supermarket to shop for her
dinner, it would probably
take her an hour to get
home, and then ready to cook
for the family.
President Obama: Because
the traffic is --
VY: Right, the traffic jam.
(laughter)
So imagine that one day she
can sit in her office and
order all the ingredients,
and when she gets home the
meal will be ready for
her to cook dinner for
her family.
So every day we can save her
an hour to spend more time
with her family.
Imagine that we can save her
360 hours per year, which
translates to 7,300 hours
over 20 years, which is
equivalent to almost a year.
So we can save a woman
a year over 20 years.
So that's now our dream.
But basically, it's very
challenging because even
online grocery is
difficult because of
the infrastructure.
It's very difficult for
us to get the items to the
customer on time, and
especially when you have a
commitment to deliver it
within two hours, which is
quite impossible when
we first started.
But then we are
very committed.
So we do our own delivery
structure, we do our
own delivery.
And up to now I think we
have a feeling of it so we
are able to deliver our
product as fast as we can to
satisfy the customers.
So a couple challenges
that I think either the
government in
Vietnam or the U.S.
government can help us is,
first, to help us to develop
our infrastructure -- the
logistics, the payment
structure, and bring
technology to Vietnam.
So that's always
been my dream.
President Obama: So one
of the challenges is just
making sure that you have
the physical infrastructure
so that you can
deliver fast enough.
But in terms of the digital
infrastructure, is that well
developed, because everybody
has a smartphone now?
VY: It's much, much better
now because people are
getting used to using their
smartphone to order
things online.
Three years ago, when I
first started, it was so
difficult to get
people online.
But now it's very easy.
But still -- so the
operational infrastructure
is not there yet, so we need
to learn it from successful
companies like Amazon, or we
need to come up with our own
solution in Vietnam.
Because the industry in
Vietnam is not the same as
the U.S.
You understand, right?
So we have all the
deliverymen on motorbike.
And they have to know
their way around.
It's very difficult
to install GPS.
President Obama: And
just one last question.
In terms of access to
capital, typically, are
startups here self-financed,
or are they financed through
the banks?
Is there enough of sort of
a bank infrastructure for
small businesses and
medium-sized businesses?
Or are you using -- are most
entrepreneurs using
family savings?
Is there venture capital?
How are people
getting started?
VY: That's a very
good question.
To be honest, I think in
Vietnam, it's very difficult
to get early funding.
Especially there's not that
many venture capital funding
here in Vietnam.
For seed funding and
investors, very limited.
I think most of the
investors in Vietnam, they
want to invest in companies
that have track records,
which is quite a challenge
for a startup in Vietnam.
So we have family
startup here.
It's good news for us.
And we hope that in the near
future, more venture funds
can come to Vietnam,
especially from America, to
help us grow all of
the new businesses.
President Obama: Well,
I'm trying to do some
advertising for you here.
(laughter)
Hopefully somebody is paying
attention back in the
United States.
So, Hang, you were
talking about agriculture.
Obviously a large portion of
Vietnam is still dependent
on basic agricultural
and small farmers.
Is the goal here for them
to be able to move their
products to market at
a better price and
more quickly?
Or is it that you want to
move up the value chain so
that there's more processing
that's taking place, so it's
not just rice or other
crops, but it's also the
products that are derived
from the foodstuffs that are
being grown?
Or is it all of the above?
Tell me a little bit more
about how you see the
opportunity for agriculture
to accelerate here
in Vietnam.
HANG: I guess
all of the above.
Of course, myself,
we cannot change the
(inaudible)
, but many investors and
entrepreneurs working
together, we can
make an impact.
So as I mentioned, there
are two partners in
our business.
One is to apply
more technology.
Some technology is
just very, very simple.
You can text message.
You can
(inaudible)
on the farm, et cetera.
That improves the
productivity massively, and
that helps the farmers to
increase their output and,
as a result, their income.
A have a trust
and more value
and bring the products to
the end users at a
higher price.
And obviously the result of
that is also higher income.
And we understand that there
are a lot of challenges like
you mentioned.
Logistically, it's
not there yet.
The infrastructure,
there is a lot to do.
But we are a very young team
and they are farmers and
they have a lot of -- I know
personally a lot of people,
young people who
work in agriculture.
And we have so much passion
and energy and drive, and
beyond that, we even have a
strategy and action plan to
make this happen.
So hopefully, in the next
few years you see some very
positive change in
agriculture in Vietnam.
President Obama: So,
Pham when you think about
business here versus
business as you're
accustomed to seeing in the
United States, what are some
of the big differences?
And are there particular
areas where you think a
strategic investment would
make a big difference in
helping all these
startups take off?
And in terms of Microsoft's
strategy, are your main
clients large businesses,
and just helping them with
respect to IT, or are you
also working with some of
these smaller startups to
see how you can grow their
businesses and hopefully
help them really take off?
PHAM: I'm sure you have
heard from -- our CO.
Our company mission is to
empower every person, every
organization on the
planet to achieve more.
And I think there is no
better market to do that
than in Vietnam, because of
the young entrepreneurs that
we have here and the
penetration, the mobile base
that we have here
with young people.
And I think that in terms of
capturing the opportunity, I
think that's important for
us to look at -- for our
government -- and businesses
and entrepreneurs to really
balance the opportunity and
the responsibility in this
new world that we live in,
which is a mobile world.
And so if we look at the
challenges in that respect,
I think public policy,
regulatory environment -- it
needs to be more conducive,
it needs to be modernized to
address the digital economy.
And I think that Vietnam is
not unique in that space of
the developing market.
I think in the U.S.
that the same things have
been faced with how do we
deal with e-commerce across
borders, taxation issues and
things of that nature.
But I think that Vietnam can
(inaudible)
other markets, and
seeing and capturing
that opportunity.
For Microsoft Vietnam,
in particular, we have a
national empowerment plan
that basically mirrors the
government ICT master plan
by 2020 to really develop
Vietnam in ICT
advanced nation.
And so, in that regard,
we look at the three key
pillars, which is the ICT
infrastructure of a country,
helping really secure the
cybersecurity apparatus of
the country, really looking
at the issue of privacy with
the protection of the
ICT infrastructure for a
national cloud -- to really
take advantage of that.
And also our investment, in
the second pillar, which is
about small and medium-sized
enterprises -- I think that
is going to be the driving
factor for the economic
growth in this country.
We have about 500,000
businesses here of that
size, and so I would say
that the startup community
is also the micro businesses
that are starting out.
And we have programs that
provide free software, free
cloud services to
these startups.
So this way, they can really
focus on developing the
best products.
And then, honestly, the
education side, we really
have to look at capacity
building, and that is to
really help the Vietnamese
move from a labor-intensive
economy into more of
a knowledge economy,
knowledge-based economy.
And that is really getting
them the right skill set for
ICT skill set and also we
need to really invest a bit
more on STEM education.
And we're doing that -- and
teaching the technology in
the classrooms, and really
doing a lot of these startup
community, coworking space,
community events to really
promote coding, because I
think that's very important.
And I think
(inaudible)
-- I think that's something
we do here annually as well.
President Obama: I think
that's a great point, and,
Vy and Hang, maybe you want
to talk about this a little bit.
Ultimately, what makes
startups and entrepreneurs
successful is good ideas
and the human capital.
Obviously investors are
important and infrastructure
is important, but the most
important thing is people.
And when you look at Vietnam
right now, it seems as if a
culture of entrepreneurship
is really beginning to grow.
But one of the questions
that I always have to ask
myself in the United States
is whether our education
system is equipping our
children effectively enough
to be able to move
forward on their ideas.
So you're both very young,
so you can still remember
what it's like
to go to school.
(laughter)
For me, I've forgotten.
But I will say that when
I was going to school we
didn't have computers.
Well, you had these big
mainframe computers, but you
didn't have
personal computers.
(laughter)
How do you see the education
system here adapting to the
needs of this new
21st century economy?
VY: I still remember taking
entrepreneurship classes in
the U.S.
and I found it so helpful
for me to learn about how to
write a business plan, how
to pitch to an investor --
and I think when I got back
here, I don't find many
entrepreneurship
classes in Vietnam.
So I think that's an empty
area that we can tap on.
And secondly, I think after
the startup gets funding, I
think they also need
mentorship program.
Those are the things that
really helps the startup
community in Vietnam.
And I also think that --
I used to be an
exchange student.
I came to U.S.
when I was 17.
I'm very thankful for that
because I learned so much
about innovation and I
learned how to dream big and
always hope for a
brighter future.
So I think there's a chance
for us to also create
exchange programs, not just
for students but for
working adults.
Especially we can send young
startups to do on-the-job
training or internship
program at some U.S. company.
So those are the things that
I really want to get to
the audience.
President Obama: Good.
Hang?
HANG: I'd like to add to
what Vy just said -- the
power of technology.
Again, I go back to this.
Students now, they have
access to a lot more
information, and education
opens new sector for
startups to come
and basically
(inaudible.)
So a friend, he has
a education startup.
Another friend who I know
very well, she launched a
startup that helps students
learn English through an app.
So all of those examples
you can see that technology
basically opens the door
and opens opportunities for
Vietnamese students to
access global knowledge.
And the evidence of that
is most of the teams that I
work with in Vietnam for my
previous startup -- they all
are educated in Vietnam.
I'm one of the very lucky
few that got years of
education in the States.
But I respect my colleagues
a lot every day -- they're
so smart.
They learn in Vietnam.
They learn not only by
going to school, but also by
doing, by talking to older
people, and obviously
learning from the Internet.
So I do think technology
is changing education.
President Obama: Well,
Pham was talking
about leapfrogging.
One of the things that
you're seeing in countries
all around the world is
if they haven't already
developed a telephone
infrastructure with
landlines and telephone
poles and underground
tunnels, now, suddenly, they
just go straight to cellular
towers and smartphones.
And banking is done there,
and commerce is done
through phones.
And so they've leapfrogged
over the infrastructure
requirements of
both systems.
And the same is
true with education.
If done properly, the
opportunity for online
education that is much
cheaper but is still of high
quality that can accelerate
the ability of a child here
in Vietnam to learn coding,
learn business practices and
so forth, without an
expensive education or
having to study overseas
is hugely important.
And with our contribution
through the Peace Corps,
through entrepreneurship
summits, through the
sponsorships that we're
getting various companies to
engage in, our hope is,
is that we'll be able to
provide the kind of training
to young people that will be
incredibly powerful
for them in the future.
And we want to thank the
Vietnamese government for
their cooperation, because
a lot of these systems that
we're trying to build we
could not do if it were not
for the strong support that
we're receiving from them.
But any other closing
thoughts that you think
either the President of
the United States or the
President of Vietnam or any
of these business leaders
here should hear about?
The Press: Mr. President,
let me ask you a question.
(laughter)
President Obama: Oh, sure.
The tide is turned.
(laughter)
The Press: So when you wer
a kid, did you dream of
becoming President one day?
President Obama: No.
(laughter)
I think there are some
people who they had a very
clear vision for themselves.
I really didn't -- I was not
as well organized as all of
you when I was young.
I think it wasn't until I
was in college that I began
to develop a sense
of wanting to make a difference.
And even then I did not know
exactly how I might do it.
I was actually very
skeptical of politics
because I thought
politicians weren't always
looking out for the people;
that too often, I thought,
they were looking
out for themselves.
So I actually worked in
communities to try to hold
politicians accountable.
That was the first job
that I did in the
nonprofit sector.
So it wasn't really until I
think I finished law school
that I thought that I might
be interested in
public service.
In fact, I went to law
school with my now who is my
Trade Representative, our
Ambassador Michael Froman.
And he was much
smarter than me.
(laughter)
But it wasn't until I came
out of law school that I
thought that maybe I might
run for office at
some point.
But the important point I
think I want to make is that
so many of the young people
here today -- certainly all
of you -- well, you sort
of qualify as young.
(laughter)
Young at heart.
(laughter)
These two are young.
You're younger than me.
(laughter)
But so many of the young
people I meet today I think
have a different idea of
their careers and
their lives.
I think they're much
more sophisticated.
I think the Internet has
exposed them to a lot more
ideas of what they can do.
I believe that many young
people recognize that the
old system where you find
yourself a job and then you
work in that same job for 30
or 40 years is less likely
to be the path for them
because the economy is just
changing so quickly.
And so I think there's much
more interest on the part of
all the young people I
meet -- certainly here in
Southeast Asia, in the
States, Africa, Europe,
wherever I go -- to try to
make it on their own, and to
try to find collaborations
with groups of people who
are interested in the same
things they are, and to see
if they can make it happen.
And I think that's
a wonderful thing.
It's challenging.
I think one of the
well-known rules in Silicon
Valley is, is that if you
haven't failed quite a bit
then you're probably not
a very good entrepreneur
because the first idea you
have is not always going
to work.
And you have to be resilient
and be able to learn from
your failures as much
as your successes.
But I truly believe that
this generation is not only
being entrepreneurial when
it thinks about business,
but also entrepreneurial
when it thinks about trying
to solve social problems;
entrepreneurial when it
thinks about government
and making government more
responsive and accountable
to ordinary people.
And it makes me very
hopeful for the future.
The Press: I guess the
entrepreneurial spirit is
very much engrained in
Vietnamese people, just like
for Americans.
And you have seen, and just
now have seen here the very
vibrant startup business
community here in Ho Chi
Minh City.
Just imagine how much more
it can be if there is more
exchange, of knowledge, of
capital, technical know-how
between the two
countries, the U.S.
and Vietnam.
And on that note, my
question for you would be,
if your daughter took a gap
year from Harvard College,
so tells you next week that
she wants to live in Vietnam
for a year, what
would you tell her?
President Obama: Oh,
I would encourage it.
But what I've learned is,
is that -- my daughter Malia
will be 18 next month, and
she already doesn't listen
to me, whatever I say.
(laughter)
So if you want her to come
to Vietnam, I shouldn't be
the one to tell her.
(laughter)
Maybe you should tell her.
Yes, absolutely.
But certainly I would
recommend students from the
States to come and study
here as much as I'm
encouraging Vietnamese
students to come and study
in the United States.
Young people are going to be
living in an interconnected
world, in a global
marketplace.
And every business
has to think globally.
Even small businesses.
If you have a good product
today, you can reach
billions of people if you
have a good strategy, you
have good marketing, you
can handle the logistics.
And so the barriers to entry
that used to exist where
only a Boeing or a GE or
a very large company could
operate in Vietnam
is no longer true.
And the same is true for
small businesses here
in Vietnam.
If you have an interesting
product that is unique and
perhaps is very common in
Vietnam, but nobody knows
about in the United States,
oftentimes some of the best
ways to start a business is
to take something that is
very popular in one place
but is unknown someplace
else and be the first person
to sell that product in
another country.
So I think part of the
education that young people
have to have is to
understand other cultures
and understand
other markets.
If you're lucky enough to be
able to travel, then that's
one way to do it.
But one of the wonderful
things about the Internet is
it gives you an opportunity
to learn about another
place, even if you
can't set foot there.
So that's something that
I continually emphasize.
Last question or comment.
PHAM: I have a question.
In your opening remarks, you
mentioned about TPP, and we
didn't have a chance
to talk about that.
And so TPP is considered
a 21st century trade
agreement, dealing directly
with the digital economy,
talking about the rules of
law extending to security
and privacy and
also cost more
(inaudible.)
TPP is very important to
Vietnam, and I know that the
Vietnamese business
community supports it.
And as an employee of
Microsoft, I can reaffirm
that our company
supports TPP.
As we look at the latest
report published by the U.S.
International Trade
Commission, that indicates
that, fully implemented, TPP
will bring about $57 billion
into the U.S. economy.
But apparently, the U.S.
-- American politics is
sort of turning against TPP.
So I'd like to hear from
you, what do you think is
going to be -- what it takes
to pass TPP in Washington,
D.C. And what will you do
in your power to make
that happen?
President Obama: Well,
it's a great question.
And first of all, just
to describe why TPP is
so important.
What TPP does is it takes
12 countries along the Asia
Pacific region that
represent a huge portion of
the entire world's
marketplace, and it says
we're going to create
standards for trade and
commerce that are fair;
that create a level playing
field; that have high
standards; that encourage
rule of law; that encourage
protection of intellectual
property -- so if Vy or Hang
come up with a great idea,
somebody is not just going
to steal it off the Internet
but the work that they've
put in is protected; that
has strong environmental
provisions so that countries
can't just take advantage of
no environmental protection
to undercut competitors
who are following more
responsible
environmental practices.
And not only do all
the countries who are
participating stand to gain
from increased trade, but
Vietnam, in particular, I
think economists who have
studied it believe would
be one of the
biggest beneficiaries.
From the United States'
perspective, it's a
common-sense thing to
do because, frankly, our
markets are already more
open than many of the
markets of the countries
that are signing up.
So Japan, for example, is
able to sell a lot of cars
in the United States but has
a lot of problems importing
beef from the United States.
And what we've done is to
make sure that a lot of the
tariffs that are currently
being placed on U.S.
exports and U.S.
goods are reduced.
And so it will create a
better environment for U.S.
businesses -- particularly
because of some of the
intellectual property
protections, a lot of what
we sell today are products
of our
knowledge-based economy.
And so it's a smart thing
to do across the board.
Now, the problem in the
United States around trade
-- and this is not new.
This has been true for the
last 30 years -- is that
some of the previous trade
agreements did not have
enforceable labor
protections or
environmental protections.
I think when China came in
to the WTO, it was able to
take advantage of the
growing global supply chain,
and a lot of manufacturing
shifted to China in a
very visible way.
So a lot of Americans saw
companies close and saw what
they viewed as their jobs
being exported to China.
And some of that happened in
Mexico, with NAFTA as well.
And so the perception was
that this is bad for U.S.
workers and U.S. jobs.
If you look at the data,
then what is true is that
some manufacturing jobs were
lost as a consequence of trade.
On the other hand, other
sectors of the economy
improved significantly.
And overall, it was
good for the U.S. economy.
But I think that in the
design of some of the oil
trade deals and some of the
mistakes that may have been
made in the past, people
became suspicious of trade
and worried that if we do
TPP, then the same pattern
will repeat itself,
and the U.S.
will lose more jobs.
My argument is that if
you're dissatisfied with the
current trading arrangements
where tariffs are placed on U.S.
goods but other goods are
already coming into the
U.S., why would you want
to just maintain the status quo?
Why not change it so that
everybody is operating in a
fair and transparent way?
And the good news is,
is that the majority of
Americans still believe in
trade and still believe that
it's good for our economy.
The bad news is politics
in the United States is not
always -- how would I
put it -- reasonable.
That's the word
I'm looking for.
(laughter)
But I'm confident that we're
going to be able to get it
done because, in the past
when we negotiated trade
deals, even though there's
a lot of opposition, at the
end of the day we end
up getting it done.
Keep in mind that we
negotiated a very big free
trade agreement with Korea,
and even though the Bush
administration negotiated
it, he didn't get it passed,
when I came into office, one
of the first things we did
was we worked with
Korea, we made some small
modifications to some of the
terms and we got it done,
and it's in force today.
So the argument that I've
made and I will continue to
make in the United States is
that we're not going to be
able to end globalization.
We have to make
globalization work for us.
And that means that we don't
try to put barriers and
walls between us and the
rest of the world; but
instead, we try to make
sure that the world has high
standards, treats
our companies fairly.
And if we do that, I'm
confident we can compete
with anybody.
So nothing is easy in
Washington these days.
But despite sometimes the
lack of cooperation with
Congress, I seem to be able
to get a lot of things
done anyway.
(laughter)
It could have been easier.
I would have
less gray hair --
(laughter)
-- if Congress was working
more effectively, but we do
have some members of
Congress who are here.
That's Congressman Castro
and Congressman O'Rourke who
are two outstanding young
congressmen from Texas.
They're strong TPP
supporters and we're very
proud of the work
that they've done.
So we're just going to have
to work hard to convince
some of their colleagues.
But ultimately I think
we can get it passed.
Well, everybody, I think
that if you have any doubt
about the outstanding future
of Vietnamese entrepreneurs,
then all those doubts have
been pushed away because of
the outstanding
presentations by these
three individuals.
Give them a big
round of applause.
(applause)
Thank you so much.
(applause)
