2. Starting a Business

To start a business in Vietnam, all businesses are to undergo 11 stringent procedures that will generally stretch over 50 days and cost approximately 16.7% GNI per capital.

3. Tax

In Vietnam, companies are required to pay 40.1% of its profit as tax, and the time require to prepare the tax procedures are approximately 1050 hours.

4. Trading across Borders

The ease of trading overseas for Vietnam is rank to be at 67 amongst 181 countries. 6 different documents include port filing documents, customs declaration and clearance documents, as well as official documents are required before exporting starts. On average, these documents require 24 days of preparations and approval. The cost of export is approximately at USD670. This includes the fees levied on a 20-foot container in U.S. dollars. All the fees associated with completing the procedures to export or import the goods are included, such as costs for documents, administrative fees for customs clearance and technical control, terminal handling charges and inland transport.

1. Business Card

• Business cards are usually exchanged at all first meetings which is crucial in Vietnam as it provides explicit indications of an individual's position and status. It is advisable to have business cards with one side printed in Vietnamese although not entirely necessary
  

• When meeting someone for the first time in Vietnam, offer your business card with both hands as a sign of being polite. Upon receiving a card, remember to place it in your wallet instead of your pocket to show respect.

• Appointments should be made several weeks in advance prior to the meeting. As most Vietnamese work a five-day week, it is usually difficult to arrange a meeting on Saturday, especially with high-rank officials.
• Dress conservatively for business meetings in Vietnam. For first meetings or meetings with senior management, a suit is a must. Bright colors are not appropriate.
• The Vietnamese are punctual and they expect others to do so too.
• Handshakes are used upon meeting and departing and only usually take place between members of the same sex. Some Vietnamese use a two-handed shake, with the left hand on top of the right wrist.
• Always wait for a woman to extend her hand. If she does not, bow your head slightly.
• It is very disrespectful to touch someone's head. The head is considered the sacred and only parents may touch the head of their young children.
• During the first meeting, Vietnamese prefer to have a less formal conversation with business partners such as discussing about the impression about Vietnam or a self-introduction. This is important as Vietnamese are often reluctant to commit to anything until they get to know more about their business partners. The Vietnamese will concentrate on getting to know you, specifically your background, your expertise, your character. In their high-context communication culture, they will depend heavily on non-verbal clues to assess meaning.
• Silence might be common in meetings where someone disagrees with another, but do remain quiet so as to not cause a loss of face.
• Negotiations can be slow so it is important to bear in mind that decisions have to go through a lot of red tape and also group consultation. Be patient.
• Do not accept an on-the-spot invitation for dinner as it is only a formality. Do reject the invitation even if they repeat the offer the second time. However, you might accept the invitation but only eat a few bites if you know the family very well or when they make the offer more than three times.

• Vietnamese name generally contains three parts: family name or surname, middle name and last name. Vietnamese family name comes first and then middle name and last name.
• Polite conversation and small talk are an important part of establishing relationships in Vietnam as they want to get to know you as a person before settling down to business. Be patient and not dive straight into the business specifics.
• Vietnamese are very polite people and will often smile and agree with you even though they may not have fully comprehended what you have said.
• Show a great deal of respect to elders through gestures such as bowing and choice of language. All Vietnamese has to select the appropriate personal pronouns when addressing someone older.
  
• Vietnamese do not like to say "No" as a refusal implies disrespect and would interfere with the harmony of the relationship. Hence, try to rephrase your question so that the Vietnamese do not have to answer “No”.
• Bring your own interpreter (preferably a native Vietnamese) to business meetings as they should be able to catch and point out instances where a "yes" meant "maybe" or even "no".
• When engaging in social conversation, remember to avoid certain topics including sex, politics, communism, the Vietnam war, religion and any inference of Vietnamese inferiority. Safe topics for discussion include your own background and hobbies, your family, language and food.
• In Vietnam context, staring directly into a person's eyes is viewed as rude. The way Vietnamese show respect is through keeping one's eyes lowered while someone in authority is speaking, therefore do not misunderstand them as lack of respect and interest.
• Vietnamese also consider themselves to be part of a larger collective and conformity to social norms is an important goal. Hence, praising or calling attention on an individual is considered to be embarrassing to the individual concerned and may result in counter productivity.
• When you receive a compliment, it is customary in Vietnamese context to deny it. For example, if someone praised you for a good presentation, an appropriate response would be "Thanks for the compliment but there is still room for improvement."

• Business is not usually discussed at dinners, rather more for building relationships.
• Eating and drinking are a major part of doing business in Vietnam. Toasting at banquets and after-dinner activities such as singing are common practices.
• Usually your host will arrange for a dinner during the early part of your visit. You are expected to reciprocate by arranging for a return dinner, possibly in well-known restaurants.
• Vietnamese beer or imported wines are usually served with the meal. The host will usually start the first toast. When toasting your host, stand and raise your glass with both hands in the direction of the oldest Vietnamese present and make a short speech about Vietnam's beautiful scenery and prospects for a successful business venture.
• The end of the meal is usually signaled by a plate of fruit or other sweet dish. After the last course is consumed, guests are expected to make the first move to leave. Remember to shake hands with all Vietnamese participants and thank your host profusely for his hospitality.

• Gifts are expected and should be prepared for presentation during the first day's meeting, either during a break or at the close of the day
• Bring enough gifts for all of the official participants in your meetings.
• Gifts can be small, relatively inexpensive; gifts inscribed with your company logo or country makes excellent gifts.
• All gifts should be wrapped, but white or black paper should not be used because these colors are associated with death.

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