1. Vietnam as an investment location

Vietnam has emerged as one of the most popular investment destinations in Asia, offering advantages such as:

• A well-educated population, which offers potential as both a workforce and a consumer market;
• Under-exploited mineral resources;
• A central location from which to reach other markets in southern Asia;
• Continued inflows of foreign aid;
• A commitment by the Government to economic pragmatism; and Significant investment incentives for selected types of businesses.

2. Geography

Vietnam occupies the eastern coastline of the Southeast Asian peninsula and shares land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. Its coastline provides direct access to the Gulf of Thailand and the East Sea.

Vietnam has a land area of 325,360 square kilometers. Most of the country is hilly or mountainous, with flat land representing only about 20 percent. The primary topographical features in the north are the highlands and the Red River Delta and the south includes the central mountains, coastal lowlands and the Mekong River Delta.

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is located in the north of the country and Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in terms of population and economic activity, is situated in the south. Other major cities include Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho.

3. Population and Labor Force

As of 1 April 2009, Vietnam had an estimated population of 86 million, 25.6 million of those reside in urban areas accounting for 29.6% of total population and 60.4 million are in rural areas that covers 70.4% of total population. The annual average population growth rate for the period 1999 to 2009 is 1.2%. This population is predominantly young, with approximately 27% below the age of 15 and a median age of 25.9 years. The population density is 259 persons per square kilometer. The population is composed of nearly 90% ethnic Vietnamese, with Chinese,Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham and mountain groups forming the remainder.

4. Language

Vietnamese, a tonal language in the Austro-Asiatic language family, is the official language. The modern written language uses the Vietnamese alphabet, a Romanized representation of spoken Vietnamese. While English is increasingly favored as a second language, other languages used to a lesser extent in Vietnam are French, Russian, Chinese, Khmer and mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian). The literacy rate (percentage of the population aged 15 years or older who can read and write) was estimated at 90.3% as surveyed in 2005.

5. Government

Vietnam is a one-party state run by the collective leadership of the Communist Party Secretary-General, the Prime Minister (PM) and the President. Policy is set every five years by the Party congress and adjusted twice a year by plenary meetings of the Central Committee. The Government and other state organs are responsible for implementing policy.

6. Time

Vietnam local time is seven hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. Business hours in Vietnam are generally from 7:30 a.m. to approximately 4:30 p.m., however international companies located in the urban areas operate from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Shops tend to be open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

7. Connectivity

Vietnam is served by several digital mobile phone networks using GSM 900 and CDMA 800 technology. ADSL, dial-up Internet services are available in the major cities. Recently, Vietnam has awarded licenses to the first 4 operators to offer high-speed 3G mobile phone services, promising millions of cellular phone users a better service. Vinaphone and MobiFone are the first 3G service providers in Vietnam.

8. Climate

Northern Vietnam has four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring is from January to March, summer is from April to end of July, autumn is from August to end of September and winter is the rest of the year. Autumn is the best and the most beautiful weather in the north with the average temperature on the day ranging from 27˚C to 32˚C and decreases to 24˚C or 27˚C at night. In contrast, Central Vietnam is subject to occasional typhoons. The South is generally warm with two seasons: dry and wet. During the hottest months at the end of the southern dry season, March through May, temperatures reach the low 30˚C. This period is followed by the May-October monsoon season.

9. Public holidays

National public holidays are listed below. Dates for the Vietnamese New Year (Tet) vary from year to year, because they are based on the lunar calendar:

- 1 January – New Year’s Day

- January or February – Tet. This is the most significant Vietnamese annual holiday and is celebrated from the last day of the old lunar year to the third day, or later, of the New Year according to the traditional lunar calendar

- 10th day of the 3rd lunar month – Kinh Hung’s death anniversary (Gio to Hung Vuong)

- 30 April – Liberation Day

- 1 May – Labor Day

- 2 September – National Day

10. Useful Contacts

For a list of useful addresses and other contact details in Vietnam, please refer to Glossary of Acronyms.

          Useful Address and Contact Information: