Jackson says it's worth being up in
Hanoi to develop that kind of close relationship. "The oil guys in
Saigon definitely have a more important operational role with
PetroVietnam, but they probably don't have the more social role
that we have up here. I mean I know the families [of these officials l.
The foreign firm addressed the personal needs of an official in order to forge what must now certainly be a bond of lifelong trust, if not obligation. The foreign party is a U.S. real estate development company (which demanded anonymity in sharing this story), which focused on developing an airtight relationship at the earliest stage of its involvement in Vietnam with the head of the People's Committee in a lesser known coastal province of the country. The man suffered serious heart trouble. The San Francisco-based company flew the man to Singapore, paid for, and "held his hand through," a heart surgery operation. The official was so indebted that he granted the firm the right to act as coordinator of all foreign investment projects in the entire province-a deal that will undoubtedly pan out handsomely for the U.S. Company.