I Came to Vietnam Without a Network. I Was Wrong.
Moon arrived without a network. She soon discovered that her existing connections already had ties to Vietnam revealing the quieter business ecosystem behind the FDI headlines.
Six months in Ho Chi Minh City changed how Moon Yiu sees Vietnam’s foreign business ecosystem.
When I moved to Ho Chi Minh City six months ago, I thought I was starting from zero.
My professional life had been built around Hong Kong, London, and clients across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Singapore. Vietnam was a market I had visited and considered, but I didn’t have a local network.
Then I started looking around.
A high school friend had opened a factory in Binh Duong. Tech founders I knew were running teams in Saigon. Other contacts had suppliers, sourcing operations, or local partners here.
Vietnam wasn’t disconnected from my network. I just hadn’t noticed the connections.
The Vietnam business story is bigger than FDI headlines
When we talk about foreign business in Vietnam, we often talk about Samsung, Intel, LG, and other major investments.
But on the ground, I keep meeting another group:
Foreign founders. SMEs. Sourcing operators. F&B businesses. Family offices. Specialist manufacturers. Professional-service firms.
Many are from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
Individually, they may be too small to make the headlines.
Collectively, they form a significant part of Vietnam’s foreign business ecosystem.
And this is a network you won’t necessarily find in FDI statistics.
The network you actually need
For a foreign founder entering Vietnam, the most useful connection isn’t always a multinational corporation.
Sometimes it’s the person who knows:
Which lawyer actually understands your situation
Which bank handles cross-border payments smoothly
Which factory can handle a small MOQ
Which industrial area makes sense for your business
Which mistake you should avoid
These are the people who have already gone through the process.
And in my experience, they are often surprisingly willing to share what they learned.
But Vietnam doesn’t have one foreign business community
This was another thing I didn’t expect.
The Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, Singaporean and Western business communities often have their own networks, trusted intermediaries and ways of doing business.
But they aren’t completely separate.
Lawyers, bankers, service providers, industry events and bilingual local operators connect them.
The most interesting opportunities may sit in that space between the communities.
What six months taught me
I came to Vietnam thinking I needed to build a network from scratch.
Instead, I discovered that my existing network already had connections here.
That made me rethink how foreign businesses should approach Vietnam.
Don’t only ask:
“Who are the biggest investors?”
Ask:
“Who is already operating here, and how did they actually make it work?”
Because Vietnam’s next business story isn’t being built only by billion-dollar investments.
It is also being built quietly by hundreds of smaller operators on the ground.
Vietnam Operations Take
If you’re already operating in Vietnam, or thinking about entering the market, we’d like to hear your story.
What brought you here? What did you underestimate? And what did you only understand after spending time on the ground?
Tell us your story.
And if you’re figuring out your own Vietnam market-entry or operational path, book a conversation with Vietnam Operations through the link: VO
Bring us the situation, the questions, or even the problem you haven’t figured out yet.
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