Doing Business In Vietnam

Vietnam, or more accurately, Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a country located on the easternmost part of the Indo-china Peninsula in South east Asia. “Vietnam”, as it means, translates as "Viet south" where "Viet" is an ethnic self identification dating to a second century B.C. kingdom in the region and "Nam" refers to its location in relation to other Viet kingdoms around it.

The country of Vietnam occupies about 331,211.6 square km – roughly the size of Germany. To the east, the country’s coast meets the Gulf of Tonkin and South China Sea while the north neighbours China. Laos and Cambodia face the western part of the country. The southern coast of Vietnam faces the Gulf of Thailand.

The population of Vietnam stands at 95,261,021 persons with the dominant Viet ethnic group constituting around 86% of the population. A large section of the population are also adherents to some form of indigenous religion while the rest conform towards Buddhism, sects of Christianity, and agnosticism. The country also ranks 15th in most populated country.

Traditionally known as French Indochina due to its occupation by the French since 1884, its subsequent control by the communist forces during World War Two has made the country into a Communist State ever since. It is currently one of the world's four remaining one-party socialist state that champions Communism, with the other three - China, Cuba and Laos.

Progress has been stagnant until 1986 when the Government enacted reforms to bring forth economic political reforms to bring forth modernisation and a more competitive, export-driven industry than it previously did.

While the current Government leaders control many of the country’s infrastructure and political expression, nevertheless the country has shown immense potential and growth. To date, Vietnam’s economic growth is now ranked as one of the highest in the world with its cheap labour, lower currency rate and strategic location in Asia.