This report puts executives and strategic planners on the fast track. The first chapter describes the study's methodology. The second chapter gives an overview of how to strategically access the market, mid-term forecasts of latent demand and accessibility benchmarks. The remaining nine chapters are not industry specific, but instead discuss economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources). Combined, the information provided in this market study is a "one-stop" shop for the strategic planner. Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given.

Excerpt: The primary audience for this report is managers involved with the highest levels of the strategic planning process, and consultants who help their clients with this task. The user will not only benefit from the hundreds of hours that went into the methodology and its application, but also from its alternative perspective on strategic planning in Vietnam.

This report helps executives evaluate strategic investment and entry alternatives in Vietnam. In order to evaluate Vietnam, Icon Group International, Inc. draws on a methodology developed by Professor Philip Parker at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. The methodology decomposes a country's strategic potential along two key dimensions: (1) latent demand, and (2) accessibility. A country may have very high latent demand, yet have low accessibility, making it a less attractive market than many smaller potential countries having higher levels of accessibility.

This report provides a strategic profile of Vietnam along these lines. Throughout the discussion, literally hundreds of statistics on Vietnam are benchmarked against regional and global averages. The reader can thus quickly understand where Vietnam fits into the regional and global perspective. The report first investigates the economic fundamentals affecting Vietnam. These fundamentals are the source for Vietnam's latent demand. Then, the subsequent chapters detail Vietnam's accessibility. This evaluation covers a number of entry alternatives, including export strategies, and local direct investment strategies. If a firm decides to have a local presence in Vietnam, this requires a strategic understanding of local business conditions. The conditions investigated in this report include local marketing (advertising, distribution, pricing issues) and entry strategies (opening an office, joint venturing, etc.), as well as human resources management (labor laws, costs, regulations). Because local presence can increase exposure, the report next assesses a number of factors affecting business risks in Vietnam (again, benchmarked against regional and global averages). These include: political risks, legal risks, cultural/demographic risks. Risks can only be evaluated within a historical context; history, alas, often repeats itself. The final chapters summarize Vietnam's economic, political and social history. In doing so, the reader has a full appreciation of history's role in shaping Vietnam's current potential.