Vietnam was once touted as the last great investment frontier.

Question

Vietnam was once touted as the last great investment frontier. Now some foreign business people are starting to wonder if the potential that Vietnam holds is worth the effort required to convert potential into reality. Recent government decisions have dissuaded many foreigners from investing in large projects in Vietnam.

There have been several government acts in the past year which have caused this hesitation from investors. First, the government has attacked foreign brand names and has attempted to established Communist Party cells in foreign-invested work places. Investors from noncommunist countries are wary of this act, and fear that the government is trying to sabotage their investment. Second, the Ministry of Finance recently ruled to increase office and residential rents through the roof to the point where they are pricing themselves out of the market for foreign investors. Third, some foreigners must now apply for work permits to accompany the already-required resident permits and business visas. And finally, there have been calls for companies to pay an extra "infrastructure tax."

This foreigner-unfriendly policy has led many high-profile companies to abandon or revise large projects. One such instance involves a major American automobile manufacturer which planned a $200 million car assembly project. But because of delays in day-to-day business due to government interference, the project is in serious jeopardy. To compound problems, the government licensed more manufacturers into the market than originally agreed upon, further reducing the potential gains that the automobile company originally expected.
   1 
 D 
1. Each of the following is a government act which has caused investor wariness EXCEPT

a) an attack on foreign brand names
b) an increase of office and residential rent
c) an increase in government paperwork required by foreign business people in order to work in Vietnam
d) intentional release of incorrect business forecasts to foreign investors
e) calls for companies to pay an "infrastructure tax"

2 
 A 
2. The author would most likely claim that the government

a) is the biggest single factor in investors' hesitation in Vietnam
b) has received unjust criticism by the international business community
c) is acting in the best interest of the people of Vietnam
d) is acting as a puppet of China
e) lacks the leadership necessary to turn Vietnam into a leading economic power

3 
 B 
3. The purpose of this passage is to

a) give examples of companies that have stopped investing in Vietnam
b) demonstrate how the government is limiting foreign investment within Vietnam.
c) advocate that other countries adopt the Vietnamese government's policies toward foreign investors
d) argue that the Communist Party in Vietnam is sabotaging foreign investors
e) celebrate Vietnam's emergence as a world economic power

4 
 D 
4. According to the passage, an American car manufacturer

a) is facing competition from fewer competitors than originally expected
b) has not been allowed to break ground on its assembly project
c) had such success with its assembly plant project that it is planning to increase its investment in Vietnamese projects
d) has seen delays jeopardize a multimillion dollar project
e) is so thrilled with its workers that it plans on funding a housing project in Hanoi

NinetyFour · Answer

It's odd the it's always the easier passages to read that are the more interesting ones for me... Maybe i'm just not skilled enough to fully understand the challenging passages haha

Anyways got everything right in about 4 minutes including time to read the passage. Here's my thought process:

1) Answer is D. All other choices are mentioned in the 2nd paragraph word for word.
2) Answer is A. Although the author does not necessarily take a stance, he/she does seem to only point out the negative impacts of what the Vietnamese gov't has done. All other choices are irrelevant.
3) Only possible choices here are B and D. However, if you read the passage, the author  never  takes a stance. He simply stated the facts into the gov'ts involvement in foreign investments. Thus he did no such "arguing" as mentioned in D. Correct answer is B.
4) Answer is D. It is stated in the last paragraph.

globaldesi · Answer

Well yes, this was an interesting passage and yes of course an easy one too.
I will wait for other explanations and then post official explanation for each of the question.

gmatconqueror2018 · Answer

4/4 in 5:18. Easy read and easy questions. If anyone has questions, feel free to reach out. Why can't all GMAT RC passages be like this one! My best advice on RC: Make POE your best, best friend. Scrutinize each choice and ask yourself if this makes sense. For inference questions, always ask "is this 100% inferable"?

Nikhil · Answer

+1 kudos to the posts containing answer explanations of all questions

globaldesi · Answer

Answers:

For Question 1:
Paragraph 2 mentions four different acts which have caused wariness.  These acts match (A), (B), (C), and (E) . The only choice not mentioned is  (D), so that's the answer.

For Question 2:
The first paragraph sets the author's purpose, which is to show how the government has dissuaded foreigners from investing in Vietnam. 
 (A) echoes this sentiment. 
 (B) is completely contradictory to the author's tone, since the author's whole purpose is to criticize the government.
 (C) is outside the scope because the passage only discusses the investment prospects by foreigners, not the welfare of Vietnamese citizens.
 (D) and (E) are outside the scope of the passage.

For Question 3:
The author's purpose here focuses on how Vietnam has failed to entice foreign investors to undertake projects in the country. While the author does give examples of companies that have stopped investing in Vietnam,
  (A), she does so only in the third paragraph, so that's not her overall purpose. 
  (B) is correct, and is backed up by the final sentence of paragraph 1.  
 (C) is a contradictory choice, as the author is saying that Vietnam's policies have hurt it.
 (D) is mentioned as support of the main purpose, but is not the purpose of the entire passage. 
Finally, (E) is wrong because the author is lamenting the fact that Vietnam is not a world economic power.

Question4:

(A) is wrong because the automobile company is facing more competition than expected.
 (B) is out because you don't know whether ground has been broken or not.
 (C) is completely opposite to the passage, as the author mentions that the project is in jeopardy, which is far from successful. 
  (D) works because lines 32-3 mentions delays in day-to-day business. 
  (E) is out of scope and contrary to the author's views.

StudiosTom · Answer

The passage is heavily focused on showing how bad the government or its policy is

Very straight forward question.
 Ans -D

The option should be based on passage and as we understand from passage ,government is a hindrance in Vietnam
 Ans:A

Ans :B

Straight forward,all other alternatives are out of scope
 Ans:D

Gladiator59 · Answer

3 mins 8 secs and got all correct. Extremely straightforward passage with easy questions to accompany it.

Will pen down my thoughts in a later edit to this post.

Edit 1:

Main point  & Summary:  Recent government decisions have dissuaded many foreigners from investing in large projects in Vietnam . And then one paragraph detailing how exactly the government has lead to this. The final para shows one example of a foreign auto company on the verge of withdrawing multi-million investment due to govt induced problems.

Straightforward detail question based on second para 
 Each of the following is a government act which has caused investor wariness EXCEPT
 
 a) an attack on foreign brand names
b) an increase of office and residential rent
c) an increase in government paperwork required by foreign business people in order to work in Vietnam 
d) intentional release of incorrect business forecasts to foreign investors  BIGNO - all else are mentioned 
 e) calls for companies to pay an "infrastructure tax"

Based on the tone of the author - the author clearly thinks it is the govt's fault that investors are turning their backs to Viet 
 The author would most likely claim that the government

a) is the biggest single factor in investors' hesitation in Vietnam
b) has received unjust criticism by the international business community  Opposite - discard. 
c) is acting in the best interest of the people of Vietnam  Irrelevant, govt. may or may not be doing so but whatever the govt. is doing is leading to investors running away (or wanting to run away) from Viet 
d) is acting as a puppet of China  BS Option - real world trap - could be true but that is outside information 
e) lacks the leadership necessary to turn Vietnam into a leading economic power  Vague and cannot be inferred from what the author mentions in the passage

Based on the central idea (boxed above) and also the general organization of the passage - the toughest of he lot 
 The purpose of this passage is to
 
a) give examples of companies that have stopped investing in Vietnam Too detailed to be the purpose. Discard 
b) demonstrate how the government is limiting foreign investment within Vietnam.  Bingo - the author has a neutral tone and is simply demonstrating what is happening in Viet 
c) advocate that other countries adopt the Vietnamese government's policies toward foreign investors  BS Option. Discard. 
d) argue that the Communist Party in Vietnam is sabotaging foreign investors  TRAP - communist cell is mentioned but we cannot infer that the govt'is that of a communist party let alone that it is sabotaging anything 
e) celebrate Vietnam's emergence as a world economic power  Opposite of what is conveyed in the passage

Detailed question - pretty straightforawrd from last para of the passage 
 According to the passage, an American car manufacturer
 
a) is facing competition from fewer competitors than originally expected  Opposite 
b) has not been allowed to break ground on its assembly project  Not mentioned at all. 
c) had such success with its assembly plant project that it is planning to increase its investment in Vietnamese projects  BS option. Almost laughable - this is completely opposite of what is being mentioned 
d) has seen delays jeopardize a multimillion dollar project  BINGO - perfectly summarizes the last para  
e) is so thrilled with its workers that it plans on funding a housing project in Hanoi  Opposite - smilar to option C

Best,
Gladi

prototypevenom · Answer

6:21 all correct. easy af passage.

Gmatprep550 · Answer

Less than 5 mins and all correct for the 1st time, I believe it was easy and interesting too.

hientranzx · Answer

Question 1
Each of the following is a government act which has caused investor wariness EXCEPT

a) an attack on foreign brand names
First, the government has attacked foreign brand names and has attempted to established Communist Party cells in foreign-invested work places.
b) an increase of office and residential rent
Second, the Ministry of Finance recently ruled to increase office and residential rents through the roof to the point where they are pricing themselves out of the market for foreign investors.
c) an increase in government paperwork required by foreign business people in order to work in Vietnam
Third, some foreigners must now apply for work permits to accompany the already-required resident permits and business visas.
d) intentional release of incorrect business forecasts to foreign investors
--> This is the correct answer
e) calls for companies to pay an "infrastructure tax"
And finally, there have been calls for companies to pay an extra "infrastructure tax."

Question 2

The author would most likely claim that the government

a) is the biggest single factor in investors' hesitation in Vietnam
--> This is the correct answer
b) has received unjust criticism by the international business community
No information about "Unjust"
c) is acting in the best interest of the people of Vietnam
No information
d) is acting as a puppet of China
No information
e) lacks the leadership necessary to turn Vietnam into a leading economic power
No information

Question 3

The purpose of this passage is to

a) give examples of companies that have stopped investing in Vietnam
Example is mentioned in the 3rd paragraph only. It is not the MAIN purpose of this passage
b) demonstrate how the government is limiting foreign investment within Vietnam.
--> This is the correct answer
c) advocate that other countries adopt the Vietnamese government's policies toward foreign investors
"Other country": New information
d) argue that the Communist Party in Vietnam is sabotaging foreign investors
This is just an example
e) celebrate Vietnam's emergence as a world economic power
No information

Question 4

According to the passage, an American car manufacturer

a) is facing competition from fewer competitors than originally expected
No information: "fewer competitors" 
b) has not been allowed to break ground on its assembly project
The project is delayed
c) had such success with its assembly plant project that it is planning to increase its investment in Vietnamese projects
The project is delayed
d) has seen delays jeopardize a multimillion dollar project
--> This is the correct answer. 
$200 million car assembly project. But because of delays in day-to-day business due to government interference, the project is in serious jeopardy.
e) is so thrilled with its workers that it plans on funding a housing project in Hanoi
No information about housing project in Hanoi

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

Vietnam was once touted as the last great investment frontier.

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Vietnam was once touted as the last great investment frontier.

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards