Opportunities for US Manufacturing in Vietnam From the Perspective of a Vietnamese Business Consultancy Firm

As trade relations between Vietnam and the United States continue to advance, business‬ ‭ opportunities in Vietnam for US manufacturers are ever-expanding. I took a deep dive into this‬ ‭ topic at my internship with InCorp Vietnam, one of the leading business consulting firms in‬ ‭ Vietnam. Formerly Cekindo, the company specializes in assisting foreign clients to begin and‬ ‭ continue operations in the Vietnamese market. The firm offers many services ranging from‬ ‭ business advice, legal consultancy services– involving government permissions and work visas–‬ ‭ to setting up entire payrolls for the Vietnamese offices of these foreign enterprises.‬ ‭ My position at InCorp Vietnam was with both the human resources department and the‬ ‭ market research department. My main task was to research the opportunities that US‬ ‭ manufacturers had in Vietnam to better identify which companies that InCorp Vietnam would‬ ‭ reach out to for consultancy services. This entailed establishing the context of the current success‬ ‭ stories among American businesses in Vietnam. Furthermore, I had to delve into researching the‬ ‭ many manufacturers associations of the US to select which would provide InCorp Vietnam with‬ ‭ the most opportunity to assist in consultancy services. My secondary task was to assist the‬ ‭ company’s team in learning professional, workplace English. This involved teaching lessons and‬ ‭ conducting group discussions. This paper intends to relay my findings as to the current economic‬ ‭ climate for American companies wishing to operate in Vietnam and what opportunities are‬ ‭ available for them using much of the information and sources from my research. It will also‬ ‭ discuss my observations working at a Vietnamese company.‬