What do you need to know about Vietnamese business culture?
Personal networks are very important in Vietnam. If you want to initiate a relationship, it is best to have a local partner to help you. Vietnamese people prefer to work with those recommended by their friends. You need to pay attention to the hierarchy in Vietnam and make sure to show respect towards senior people, those with higher ranks or older age. Handshakes are used in greetings. You might want to hire an interpreter to help you with communication.
What are negotiation tactics in Vietnam?
- Meetings should be planned and informed several weeks in advance.
- You should come to the meetings on time. Being late will reflect badly on your image.
- Trust is a crucial factor in building relationships and doing business.
- Face-saving is important in Vietnam. Sometimes, your Vietnamese counterparts will refrain from voicing their opinions for fear of embarrassing other people.
- Invest time in getting to know your counterparts.
How much is the contract worth in Vietnam?
Because relationships are of paramount importance in Vietnam, people will expect others to keep to their words. Nevertheless, the contract is only legalized when it is formally written and signed by both parties.
What are pricing policy, pressure and restraints in Vietnam?
Pricing policy in Vietnam is under the influence of the macroeconomic situations. Fluctuation in oil, gold prices and the exchange rate has a big impact on commodities’ prices. Competition is another factor affecting pricing strategies. Bargaining is part of the business culture, hence you should expect lots of negotiations and offer discount to your partners.
Like China, contract law in Vietnam has practiced a dual pricing policy. In this policy, it emphasizes double charges for purchases made by foreigners. Starting from water to housing costs, in almost everything they obviously priced higher to foreign consumers than their locals. In summary, this policy incidentally made foreign investment higher and weakened away their chances of getting more investors for the benefit of their country.
What is Vietnamese legal system?
Vietnamese legal system is constructed based on the French civil law. It is also influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism, as well as Communist ideologies.
What is the arbitration and litigation in Vietnam?
Arbitration in Vietnam
Arbitration in Vietnam is reigned over by the Ordinance on Commercial Arbitration 2003 known as the Arbitration Ordinance. The ordinance states that all arbitration awards, both local and foreign, are imposed in Vietnam through a request for assistance through a pertinent provincial Office of Judicial Enforcement in favor of the jurisdiction of the debtor. Nevertheless, for foreign arbitral awards, in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure of 2005 (CCP), it is primarily needed to get legal recognition and approval of the award by the Vietnamese Court.
The renowned arbitration institution in the country is the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre. However, as used to be done, usually foreign investors chooses to to provide for claims to be submitted to arbitration in other centres like in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Litigation in Vietnam
Litigation in Vietnam serves as the most usual way of resolving commercial disputes in the country when both parties is unsuccessful to reach an informal agreement procedure.
In general, commercial disputes are reviewed part of civil disputes which can be submitted to a capable court for settlement. For court proceedings, the procedures are provided for in the Civil Proceedings Code (CPC) taking effect last January 1, 2005 where it combines major provisions of previous laws on the system for civil, economic and labour disputes, including the acceptance and enforcement foreign arbitral awards and foreign judgments.
Expanding to Vietnam can be challenging. It is advisable to research thoroughly, understand the culture, legal system, and necessary procedures to optimize the outcomes of your strategy.
