Open to the World -Business in Vietnam

  A lot of foreign companies do business in Vietnam, and Vietnamese companies find it easy to expand business in Asia.

You are on the street. On the right side you can find GUCCI, Armani and on the left side you look up and see Sheraton hotel rising in the sky. Then, where do you think you are now? -In NY? -In London? The answer is, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

I went to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam at the end of February with Prof. Tsuboi and his students at Waseda University. Here are some findings about current Vietnam business style.

As written above, foreign companies have been penetrating in Ho Chi Minh City. One of the Vietnamese students said that many promising young talents want to work at foreign companies from USA, Korea, and Japan. Despite efforts of government, at present there is no Vietnamese company like Toyota, Sony, and Samsung. She thought that is one of the biggest problems in Vietnam.

Some Vietnamese companies are aiming to develop their business across Asia. TVM, media contents supplier established in 2005, has been planning to penetrate to Thailand, Laos, and Singapore by its online entertainment website called VIVO. Their slogan is “Open to the world”. Tong Giam Doc, CEO of TVM and a recipient of Ho Chi Minh City’s Best Young Business Award, said their business is starting to open to the Asian countries. TVM is in partnership with SBS, which is Korean company, Shogakukan, BBC, and Warner Bros. We may also find Vietnamese company not only in Vietnam, but also across Asia.