In the case of marine transport services, foreign investors are only permitted to establish joint ventures for operating fleets as of 2009, although the foreign investor's participation cannot exceed 49% (or 51% for international marine transport services),a restiction that has been removed in 2012. For inland waterway and rail transportation services,a foreign business entity shall only be permitted to establish a joint venture company in which the capital contribution of the foreign investor does not exceed 49%
Road transport services can only be established as joint ventures in which the foreign investor's participation does not excced 49%, with foreign participation increasing to 51% in 2010. Foreign participation in postal, wholesale and retail services is still subject to limitations set out in relevant regulations.
It summary, the quality of logistics services provided by Vietnam's local LSPs is still rather low , without real ability to compete with foreign logistics service suppliers.At the moment, domestic operators tend to provide only specific elements of the chain, rather than being able to provide integrated services. Know-how transfer and capital injection will be required to remedy the situation, irrespective of whether these companies act as independent suppliers or as partners of international companies' activities in Vietnam.
As far as international logistics services are concerned,the presence of global operators facilitaes traders' access to foreign markets. However, these operators face problems of a lack of adequately trained manpower that would be required to ensure efficient operations. Competitive pressures based on the presence of foreign companies will further increase once market access restrictions have been gradually taken back or relinquished(Anderson and Banomyong ,2010). Some areas, however,will continue to see access limitations,such as,for instance, inland waterway transport or domestic railway, etc. based on regulations established by Decree 140.