Vietnam's high-speed rail investor withdrew their bid, and now there is a popular theory that the Vietnamese government invited Siemens and a billionaire as a front to lure Chinese bidders, but China didn't fall for it, so they withdrew their bid.
This theory may exist, but it's not very likely!
After years of efforts on the high-speed rail project in Vietnam, the Vietnamese government has three most desired things, in terms of importance:
1. Technology transfer.
2. Technical training.
3. Investor.
The previous agreement with Siemens had already been finalized, and regarding technology transfer and employee training, Vietnam would pay 1.5% fees, which should not be an issue. Siemens also has the motivation to do this because its system has not yet been commercialized. It only conducted its first test at 360 km/h in March this year and urgently needs to be implemented. Moreover, Vietnam and Siemens have a common motive to compete against China's high-speed rail market.
Therefore, the problem still lies with the investor.
According to my view a few days ago, the biggest possibility is that the Vietnamese government did not intend to continue working with the investors to expand new markets in the future.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852813723004937/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.