[vntx]

Right.

Vietnam still is a communist country in that respect.

The government still owns all the land and is legally leasing it to its citizens and foreigners. In reality, now that Vietnam is increasingly open to the world economy the government has to treat property rights better or else it'll scare foreign investment away.

The lack of private property rights and the Vietnam's Communist Party stranglehold on the economy with their state owned enterprises is a huge drag on productivity and innovation.

Fortunately, it seems like things are improving.

[digianarchist]

Nothing to do with communism. Capitalist Thailand has thirty year limits on property ownership with the exemption of condo buildings that are majority owned by Thai citizens.

Hell even Singapore limits property ownership of foreigners.

[teamwork007]

I hate using the terms capitalist and communist since they are both pretty loaded, but I think in the case of Vietnam and China it does have something to do with their recent Communist or Socialist histories. Property rights are usually seen as the bedrock of a capitalist society for better or worse. Vietnam and China's land is technically still owned "by the people" (aka government) and since both countries have opened they have gradually loosened those rights. Singapore is often seen as an anomaly to people who see things on the capitalist/communist spectrum, but you're right they have rights similar to those seen in China and Vietnam and often cited as a model for those countries to provide more property rights without allowing for a 'Western' model.

[digianarchist]

Is New Zealand a communist country? They banned foreign ownership recently.