Rapid road to prosperity
In 1976, North and South Vietnam were reunified, and in 1986 Vietnam launched economic reforms, attracting foreign investment that has spurred rapid development. A member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Vietnam has also become a party to free-trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Enjoying numerous advantages for development, including its proximity to China, Vietnam is a popular destination for Taiwanese entrepreneurs looking to Southeast Asia for business opportunities. Currently, Taiwan ranks as the fourth-largest investor in Vietnam, behind Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. Yet people in the local Taiwanese business community say that many Taiwanese invest there indirectly, via overseas channels. In actuality, they argue, Taiwan’s total investment in Vietnam probably ranks even higher, possibly among the top two.
The first Taiwanese companies to go there were primarily attracted by the low cost of land and labor. Firms in labor-intensive industries, such as footwear, textiles, furniture, and bicycles, comprised the bulk of them. They mostly set up in industrial zones near Ho Chi Minh City.
Some of those factories were massive, employing tens of thousands of workers each. Consequently David Yuan, founder of the Eternal Prowess Vietnam group and president of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of CTCVN, believes that Taiwanese firms collectively employ more workers than other foreign nations there. For instance, the Pou Chen Group, a leading Taiwanese footwear maker, employs several tens of thousands of workers in Vietnam. Its announcements of year-end bonuses or layoffs are big news.
Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s commercial center, developed first. But the Vietnamese government has also been actively pushing development of the capital, Hanoi. In 2006, Hanoi hosted the APEC summit, and that same year the government expanded the city by annexing parts of the neighboring provinces of Ha Tay, Vinh Phuc, and Hoa Binh. It has thus become the largest city in Vietnam by area.
Hung Chih Hua, chairman of Sheng Yu Construction and president of the Hanoi Branch of CTCVN, has a deep and lasting connection with Vietnam. As an ROC public servant, his final posting was to Hanoi in 2006, “just in time for the city’s transformation.” His positive impressions of Vietnam and the relationships he formed there led him to start a new chapter in his life in Hanoi after retiring from public service. Closely involved in the city’s transformation in the years since, his firm has built many factories there.
The traffic never ceases on the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City.
The Lawrence S. Ting School is steeped in the ethos of Taiwanese education.