Trent Davies On How Vietnam Can Complement Your China Business

Vietnam has successfully established itself as a leading destination for foreign direct investment thanks to its increasing integration with world markets.

Vietnam’s network of free trade agreements (FTAs) currently connects Vietnam to 68% of the world’s consumers. The recently signed European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement further joins Vietnam to one of the third largest players in global trade.

How Vietnam Could Complement Your China Operations

On 17^th -18^th September, we co-hosted a seminar with The European Chamber of Commerce Vietnam, Jones Lang LaSalle and DEEP C Industrial Zones titled Navigating Asia’s Business Landscape: How Vietnam Could Complement Your China Operations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The presentation provided an overview of how companies can benefit from the EVFTA and how complementing Chinese operations with production in Vietnam can benefit your business.

An expert panel shared insights regarding recent developments and the key to successfully planning a business in Vietnam.

Trent Davies, Manager of our International Business Advisory team in Vietnam, delved into manufacturing in Vietnam. The focus was on the effect of rules of origin, company incorporation, and regulatory compliance to help investors understand opportunities and challenges for successfully operating in Vietnam.

Trent opened his speech by comparing Vietnam with China and highlighted the importance of developing a location specific investment strategy in Vietnam:

“Vietnam is a really exciting place with plenty of opportunities, but it isn’t yet China. Although infrastructure spending in Vietnam is massive, the current infrastructure may not be able to support all the businesses that investors want to enter, and logistics can be complicated due to congested ports.

The other key difference is Vietnam doesn’t have the depth of supply chain as China does. Companies will have to really work with suppliers in Vietnam to make sure they know your wants clearly. It is important as such to make a right decision when you enter Vietnam, and to choose the right location based on your production strategy, to avoid some of those issues.”

What is Vietnam’s Business Environment Like for Foreign Investors?

During the panel discussion, many audience members raised their own concerns and questions. Queries such as how to set up a factory in Vietnam, what the workforce in Vietnam is like, and the legal environment in Vietnam in terms of Intellectual property issues were at the forefront of discussions.

Trent pointed out that Vietnam has benefited significantly from the ongoing trade disputes north of its border. This is largely due to Vietnam’s close proximity to China, lower cost of labor, and multiple free trade agreements, all of which are essential to formulating strategies to hedge against US tariffs on exports from China.

Both events were successful and received positive feedback from the audiences.

We were honored to meet with audience members from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan and Hong Kong, among  others. It is our aim to deliver helpful and professional advice to companies looking to grow within Asia’s business environment.

Equip Yourself for Doing Business in Vietnam

If you are interested in relocating a manufacturing operation to Vietnam, read our Vietnam Briefing issue on China plus One Manufacturing.

In it, we discuss:

• What Vietnam can do for your China business;
• How to plan a supply chain shift;
• Trade Agreements, Rules of Origin, and Tariff Avoidance.

Find out how we can support your business in Vietnam here, or contact our Vietnam offices directly.

For an extensive catalogue of business resources, please feel free to subscribe to our investor resource library, Asiapedia.

To stay up-to-date with news and publications concerning several aspects of doing business in Asia, visit Asia Briefing.

 

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