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NZ companies urged to grasp Vietnam’s potential
Vietnam could be the path of least resistance for setting up in Asia, but the ‘do-it-yourself’ attitude is holding New Zealand companies back, a leading New Zealand news website quoted experts as saying.
According to the Stuff.co.nz on September 25, former New Zealand trade commissioner to Vietnam Peter Healy said the country had been dragged down by a proliferation of wars for the past 150 years but was now one of the most accessible base camps for Asian expansion.
Speaking at a Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce business breakfast, Healy described a country brimming with potential, with an urban population in which almost two-thirds were younger than 30.
The country’s retail market had been growing by up to 30 percent every year for more than a decade. But Vietnam 's global reputation opened opportunities beyond that, he said.
Auckland clothing company Retro Clothing went to Vietnam and shaved two-thirds off its costs, but also garnered more attention than they would have staying at home, according to the news website.
Healy said the example showed how much more attention companies could get in Vietnam , as international chains looked for suppliers there, overlooking places such as New Zealand . Some big opportunities in infrastructure, schooling, airports and ports had been ignored by New Zealand to its detriment.
Mitchell Pham, general manager of Augen Software Solutions, said Kiwi companies were blind to the opportunities. "They see the cost, they don't see the benefits."
His company had set up in Vietnam and was keen to help other companies get a foothold in Asia . But New Zealand companies' do-it-yourself innovation became a limitation when looking overseas, he was reported as saying.
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