Doing Business in Vietnam
Vietnam - Overview
Vietnam has had an impressive economic growth over the last two decades and continues to grow rapidly. Over a short period of time Vietnam has gone from a starving country to a major exporter of agricultural goods. Today Vietnam is considered one of the most open economies in the world, with total import and export value corresponding to roughly 160 percent of GDP. In 2007 Vietnam joined WTO and since then numerous reforms have helped the investment climate improve significantly, resulting in a growing inflow of foreign investments and companies.
For foreign investors Vietnam has mainly been, and continues to be, an attractive choice for establishing labour intensive, low-technology production. However, as the income levels increase and the consumer behaviour changes, it has become more common to establish businesses oriented towards selling goods on the Vietnamese market. Many companies describe Vietnam as a good complement to the home market, with growing potentials offered by a very young, dynamic population. It is described as cheap to establish new brands and commercialism is still relatively young.
Advice for starting a business in Vietnam.
One of the main problems for businesses in Vietnam is difficulties with predictability, transparency and clarity in terms of regulations and relations with public authorities. The gaps between legislation, implementation and enforcement are big in Vietnam. Starting a company is associated with some administration (several forms and procedures) and also associated with strategic considerations in terms of the legal form of the company (e.g. joint stock company, representative office etc).
So, the first advice is Be prepared to spend a lot of time taking care of administrative procedures (e.g. different forms, contracts and licenses), it means: * Try to get a good overview of the different ministries, authorities and departments you are likely to be in touch with within your business
Vietnam has had an impressive economic growth over the last two decades and continues to grow rapidly. Over a short period of time Vietnam has gone from a starving country to a major exporter of agricultural goods. Today Vietnam is considered one of the most open economies in the world, with total import and export value corresponding to roughly 160 percent of GDP. In 2007 Vietnam joined WTO and since then numerous reforms have helped the investment climate improve significantly, resulting in a growing inflow of foreign investments and companies.
For foreign investors Vietnam has mainly been, and continues to be, an attractive choice for establishing labour intensive, low-technology production. However, as the income levels increase and the consumer behaviour changes, it has become more common to establish businesses oriented towards selling goods on the Vietnamese market. Many companies describe Vietnam as a good complement to the home market, with growing potentials offered by a very young, dynamic population. It is described as cheap to establish new brands and commercialism is still relatively young.
Advice for starting a business in Vietnam.
One of the main problems for businesses in Vietnam is difficulties with predictability, transparency and clarity in terms of regulations and relations with public authorities. The gaps between legislation, implementation and enforcement are big in Vietnam. Starting a company is associated with some administration (several forms and procedures) and also associated with strategic considerations in terms of the legal form of the company (e.g. joint stock company, representative office etc).
So, the first advice is Be prepared to spend a lot of time taking care of administrative procedures (e.g. different forms, contracts and licenses), it means: * Try to get a good overview of the different ministries, authorities and departments you are likely to be in touch with within your business