Hanoi Hui - Dynamic Vietnam impresses Leadership Network member

Visiting a country that has been subjected to constant invasion, conflict, and hardship over the past two millennia, those unfamiliar with the country might expect to find Vietnam a struggling nation filled with mistrust and resentment.

Instead, you'll find some of the most spectacular scenery, bustling city centres, and greeted by people filled with passion, ambition, and respect.

After an awe-inspiring two weeks in the country to conduct business visits, some adventuring, and participating in the Leadership Network's Hanoi Hui, what should the world know about Vietnam?

Vietnam has experienced world-leading GDP growth for 15 years, consistently growing between 5-8 percent per year in a trend that’s forecast to continue, leapfrogging the economy from 35th to 10th in the world by 2050.

This growth has been enabled at several layers. One example is the success story of  FPT  — the largest information technology service company in the country. During a company tour with fellow Network members, FPT senior executives explained that the company doubled revenue in just a four-year period to reach USD$1b at the end of 2023.

Engulfed in the traffic, street food and beer stools sprawled across the streets of Hanoi, there are successful businesses operating on the opposite end of the scale spectrum — thousands of thriving micro-enterprises lining the narrow roads, from high school students with their side-hustles, to grandparents sizzling enticing traditional snacks.

One common enabler for these billion-dollar businesses to the street traders, is the regulatory ease of establishing and running enterprise.

Of course, as an emerging economy there are both social and sustainability related regulatory gaps requiring constant improvement. However, Vietnam displays to an extreme the simple lesson of how simplified regulation can stimulate access to entrepreneurship and growth.

Upon arriving to one of our meetings, we got to experience how some of this growth is encouraged - by impressing investors. While we weren't there to build business, we got a look behind the curtain on how this happens.

Driving in via electric powered golf cart, we saw a humungous blue dragon hovering behind the entrance to ‘Legend theme park’, an imported-sand beach with filtered sea water, specially crafted spiritual temples, the luscious greens of a 27-hole golf course, and more.

The colours and architecture looked like Chat-GPT had been asked to create a perfect tourist location based on the imagination of a child, a golfer, and a sunbather! It was easy to forget that this impressive but eerily empty (under construction) development was also built as a ‘floating island’ on artificial land. 

After giving an introduction on behalf of the Asia New Zealand Foundation (with a translator), my first question to the team at Do Son Dragon Ocean resort, was whether an artificial island is a resilient long-term investment alongside climate change and rising sea levels. Later on, we were shown state-of-the art sea wall engineering surrounding the island, and a 2000ha mangrove restoration project alongside the development build to combat some of these issues.

What the resort team was most successful with was impressing this group of wide-eyed kiwis. The exceptional level of hospitality shown by this group (and the many others we visited) without any expectation of benefit or reciprocity was inspiring to say the least (even somewhat guilt inducing).

What this also highlighted, was the power of authentic hospitality, creating layers of incentives to investors, and how both domestic and international capital can be combined to upsize sustainable development projects. Enough to make me wish I had a few more Vietnamese Dong or USD to invest myself.

On my final night in Vietnam I was invited to join a group of students from the prestigious National Economics University for dinner after meeting them earlier in the week.

As the only kiwi in the delegation with the remaining energy levels (or bravery) to head out with the group – I had to explain before we reached the karaoke segment of the evening that my tendency towards tone-deafness and preference for Taylor Swift anthems wasn’t necessarily the New Zealand norm!

However, the greatest impression I was left with from an evening of deep conversations with the group (between singing “Love Story” and the Vietnamese national anthem) was their attitude.

It’s difficult to articulate the combination of inspiration and respect I felt as the students shared their ambitions for their community and their country, as they demonstrated the authenticity of their curiosity about life in New Zealand. The level of respect, manners, and maturity they showed was well beyond their years.

In a trend that held across the entirety of my fortnight in Vietnam, the people I met held a common belief that despite the atrocities that had been inflicted in the country’s past of invasion and occupation – their focus was fixed solely on a peaceful and prosperous future and to make the lives of themselves, their families, and their country better. 

One local mentioned, “if we hated every country who has invaded or wronged us, there wouldn’t be many people left to interact with!”.

I think much of the world could take lessons from this positive forward-focused attitude. It's important to learn from lessons of the past, but also to make sure we don't get trapped in our own history. So, after expecting nervous scooter rides, interesting business meetings, and great street-food, I walked away with that knowledge and so much more from my time in Vietnam.

I feel very privileged to have built life-long connections, learnt so much, and to now have the opportunity to share a small slice of my experience with you.

This is an excerpt from the full article published on LinkedIn here

The Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network equips the next generation of Kiwi leaders to thrive in Asia. We provide members with the connections, knowledge and confidence to lead New Zealand’s future relationship with the region.