Many Australian businesses that are well established in Vietnam thrive, but there is generally a low awareness of the Vietnamese market in Australia and new entrants find it a difficult market to understand.
Nevertheless, Australian businesses with a clear-sighted understanding of these challenges stand to benefit from Vietnam’s economic opportunities. Ongoing reforms to state-owned enterprises and market-based economic practices will introduce greater competition and open up further opportunities for Australian businesses in Vietnam. Both Australia and Vietnam welcome foreign investment, subject to appropriate review and regulation. Most new investment coming into Vietnam is being made by companies that are already well established in the market. Vietnamese firms see Australia as a safe, if expensive, market in which to invest.
Building cultural understanding and personal connections is important to success. Australian companies can draw upon Australia’s large Vietnamese diaspora to increase their expertise in the Vietnamese language and culture, and to better understand potential opportunities and risks. The growth in number of Australian families living in Vietnam over the last decade should also be seen as a potentially useful asset for the entry of Australian businesses to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese and Australian Governments play an essential role in building awareness of the complementarities of our economies. Austrade and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency help individual businesses identify opportunities and suppliers in each market.
Specialist bodies like the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AusCham) and the Australia-Vietnam Business Council (AVBC) represent and promote the interests of businesses operating in each country. Peak business groups like the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) reinforce this business-to-business architecture, including by drawing on their deep membership bases.
To further highlight the benefits and potential of both market and investment opportunities in both countries, Australia and Vietnam appointed Business Champions in October 2021. Champions are responsible for engaging with industry, bilateral business councils and peak bodies and reporting their findings and recommendations to Ministers at the Australia-Vietnam Economic Partnership Meeting.
Fostering fertile business and investment environments
Differences in legal and regulatory systems, socio-cultural practices and language present challenges for new market entrants in both countries.