An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2023
Published: December 2022An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2023 provides readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. It addresses taxes, compliance, and labour contracts alongside transfer pricing and changes to relevant laws.
We hope this business guide will provide investors with an insight into key aspects of undertaking and doing business in Vietnam.
The year 2022 was not without its challenges for Vietnam. Rising global inflation put Vietnam on a somewhat uncertain trajectory with many industries struggling to make ends meet as a rising US dollar took its toll. In manufacturing, for example, orders were well down on previous years and toward the end of the year, the sector entered a retraction, according to S&P Global’s Purchasing Managers Index.
This, however, has created fertile grounds for companies looking to move into the Vietnamese market by way of high-value, low-cost mergers and acquisitions. In the first six months of 2022, Vietnam ran up nearly US$5 billion in M&A transactions. This figure was close to surpassing M&A transactions for the entirety of 2021. This is likely to continue into 2023 with a credit crunch forcing domestic enterprises to look abroad for much needed capital.
Information technology, too, is another bright spot-on Vietnam’s 2023 horizon. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated tech sector development and though this has slowed, it is still going strong. Businesses in IT would do well to look closely at what Vietnam has to offer in terms of skilled coders and developers that come at a relatively low-cost. The digitization of Vietnam’s economy is also a high priority for the Vietnamese government and this has led to a broad range of favorable policies to promote the sector.
Overall, Vietnam is still expected to see growth in the 6-8 percent range. This is largely attributed to a broad range of free trade agreements to which it is party. A number of these, moving into 2023, will see further tariff reductions on both imports and exports, which should further cement Vietnam’s reputation as an economic powerhouse and a rising start in global trade.
In this edition of Doing Business in Vietnam we look at:
- How to Set Up in Vietnam
- Tax, Audit, and Accounting
- Human Resources and Payroll
We also look in-depth at market entry needs and requirements, different models of investment, taxes, and labor contracts and worker rights.