I know nothing about Vietnam.  But a trend in centrally controlled countries is often the further near the center one is, the more dependent on being fed they are.<p>The further away, the more they get used to feeding themselves, so when the state takes a reduced role in daily economic life, for example partially deregulating industries, as they have in Vietnam, those that were feeding themselves are now able to flourish, and where government subsidies are taken away, areas turn into comparative rust-buckets.