Theo's Adventure Capitalists - Vietnam

Theo Paphitis follows three companies trying to do business in Vietnam - a communist country that’s embracing capitalism, but on its own terms. With its rapid economic expansion, Vietnam really is an emerging market. The rewards for British companies who get it right here could be huge. But so, too, could the risks.

Theo travels to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and the World Heritage Site Ha Long Bay to follow the three companies as they try and succeed in this dynamic new market.

Creative Commons Image Saturn♄ via Flickr
Ha Long Bay [Image: saturn ♄ under CC-BY-NC-SA licence]

The companies

There’s luxury boat manufacturer Fairline, who want to set up a dealership in Vietnam to sell their eye-wateringly expensive boats. Their potential partners are two British businessmen who arrived in the UK thirty years ago as Vietnamese Boat People.

There’s Creative Education, with their ambitious plans to run an International School and set up a region-wide teacher training business.

Theo also follows Haymarket, who want to find a local partner to publish their magazines 4-4-2 and Autocar in Vietnam.

All three companies have taken on a huge challenge.

How do you sell luxury boats in a country that has no marinas, no trained engineers and no spare parts?

How do you set up an International School in a communist country that is still very keen on red tape and regulation, especially where education is concerned?

How do you find someone willing to publish car and football magazines in the middle of a global advertising downturn? And are cars and football big in Vietnam?

But it's not just the specifics - there are challenges facing all three as well. Is doing business there going to be the same as doing business in Britain? What sort of cultural differences could be waiting to trip our companies up?

Doing business in Vietnam

Today, Vietnam has one of the fastest growing and most vibrant economies in Asia, along with an abundant, well-educated labour pool. It has both a large market for capital goods and a growing domestic market for consumer goods.

Read more about Vietnam on the UKTI.

Thinking of taking your business idea to Vietnam? Before you do anything, explore our videos where Theo and experts from The Open University Business School offer advice on business overseas.

Talk to UKTI for a UK government perspective.

And visit the website of the Vietnam embassy in London. They've got a limited section on the nation's economy and rules for doing business.

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