Vietnam Business - Important Issues for 2013

Vietnam may be familiar to the American public, after a lengthy war fought in the 1960s and 1970s, but the country isn't all that popular among investors. But after shifting from a highly centralized planned economy to a socialist-orientated market economy, the country has become significantly more attractive to international investors.

Vietnam's Changing Economy

Vietnam's economy began as a largely agricultural feudal system until French colonization in the mid-19th century. After the country's regions developed very different economies, they became further politically divided in 1954, with the north embracing communism and the south embracing capitalism, eventually setting the stage for the Vietnam War.

Between the 1970s and 1990s, Vietnam was a member of Comecon and heavily dependent on the Soviet Union and its allies. The dissolution of Comecon led to trade liberalization, currency devaluation, and a policy of economic development. Throughout the ensuing 1990s, tens of thousands of businesses were created and the economy grew at a rapid clip.