The China plus One Strategy in Vietnam

2 Introduction ALBERTO VETTORETTI Partner Dezan Shira & Associates Companies facing rising costs in China are turning to Vietnam to outsource low value production and assembly under a productionmodel known as ‘China plus one’ manufacturing. This strategy has been around for many years, but has received renewed attention as trade tensions between the US and China drive up costs for manufacturers. Business leaders working to execute a China plus one strategy must make decisions regarding what to outsource, how to structure their entry strategy, andwhere to locate their new faculties. Even for seasoned investors, thesedecisions canprovedifficult due toVietnam’s opaquebusiness conditions. However, companies thatmanage to gather the information required tomake these decisions will be better positioned than even to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. In this issue of VietnamBriefingmagazine, we discuss the growing popularity of China plus one manufacturing.Wehighlightmarket entry strategies available to investors, analyze thedifferences between these locations, and finally highlight the important role that rules of origin play for companies that are seeking to tap into Vietnam’s world-class network of trade agreements. Dezan Shira & Associates has a growing team of pre-market entry specialists throughout Vietnam, providing our clients with years of combined experience assisting foreign enterprises to navigate the nuances of theVietnamesemarket and select optimal locations for investment. For questions on how to assess investment requirements, compare locations for establishment, and leveraging the rules of origin in Vietnam, please contact us for more information. With kind regards, Alberto Vettoretti Credits Publisher / Alberto Vettoretti Managing Editor / Adam Pitman Editor / Maxfield Brown Contributor / Koushan Das, Kyssha Mah, Vasundhara Rastogi Design / Belén Rodríguez Reference Vietnam Briefing and related titles are produced by Asia Briefing Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dezan Shira Group. Content is provided by Dezan Shira & Associates. No liability may be accepted for any of the contents of this publication. Readers are strongly advised to seek professional advice when actively looking to implement suggestions made within this publication. For queries regarding the content of this magazine, please contact: editor@asiabriefing.com All materials and contents © 2018 Asia Briefing Ltd. Asia Briefing Ltd. Unit 507, 5/F, Chinachem Golden Plaza, 77 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East Kowloon, Hong Kong. www.asiabriefing.com www.dezshira.com www.aseanbriefing.com www.india-briefing.com www.indonesiabriefing.com www.vietnam-briefing.com www.china-briefing.com