The shift in economic philosophy that began in 1988 with doi moi, or the "renovation process," generated some hope and confidence in the future, in part because for the first time people would be free to earn money on the basis of their own initiative.

This was a shift in economic policy borne of necessity, as inflation surged and Soviet aid all but evaporated, but it created a window of opportunity. People could follow their dreams and be rewarded for hard work, all according to the principles of private enterprise.

"It was a great time to start a business," recalls 30-year-old Nguyen Tuyet Mai, who started one of Ho Chi Minh City's first licensed non-state enterprises, a tour company, four years before the term private business even had a Vietnamese translation. "Everything was new and exciting."

Yet ten years into an era characterized by the leadership in Hanoi as "market oriented," private enterprise remains shackled by official attitudes and policies. Instead of being encouraged, entrepreneurs are relegated to second-class status. They must operate in an environment of uncertainty, in which a scrappy, seemingly subversive approach is the best hope for success.

The government has continued to favor state-owned enterprises, making it easier for them to export and borrow money, for example. Private sector firms typically find that the operating environment is stacked against them. The bureaucracy for obtaining licenses can be daunting and expensive, and a listing banking industry makes financing extremely tough to arrange. And any businesses that do manage to grow often find this attracts unwanted attention from heavy-handed tax authorities.

That's not to say a tradition of small scale private enterprise isn't evident in Vietnam. A stroll along the streets of any of the larger towns or cities reveals a vibrant scene of everyday commercial activity. Storefronts are piled high with stacks of packaged food; shops are adorned with dangling toys; dozens of newly-built mini hotels are built right to the curb; and a young woman trots along carrying a portable chicken soup restaurant - including a couple of plastic stools - on a wooden beam stretched across her shoulder.

There has been major growth among household enterprises, which are estimated to number at least 800,000 according to a World Bank report. By some measures, this is the most dynamic sector of the economy, generating jobs and savings. One study attributed this growth to the industrious nature of the country's women, finding that urban women in Vietnam spend more time running small businesses than doing housework.

Growth of household enterprises could be stronger still if concerted banking reforms were able to generate a fluid cycle of deposits and small loans. However, these businesses are still a minor component of Vietnam's private sector equation. Cautions one western economist: "Mom and pop operations are really about survival, not development. If you look at these as incubators from which a few small factories grow, that's fine. But very few acorns grow into oaks."

A much larger impact on the economy could come from small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in light industry and manufacturing, say some economists. So far, Vietnamese businesses have yet to play a significant role in this area; an April 1997 study by James Riedel and Associates found that the domestic corporate private sector accounted for less than 1% of GDP.