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I'm an expat in the HCMC. I remember significant amount of skepticism by the beginning of the outbreak around COVID-19 related news, as both expats and locals s

I'm an expat in the HCMC. I remember significant amount of skepticism by the beginning of the outbreak around COVID-19 related news, as both expats and locals suspected state censorship involved, like it happened in China about a month before. However, by the 2nd week of quarantine, even skeptics had to admit that outbreak has been handled with the same efficiency as in Taiwan or New Zealand. By that moment borders are still closed, and it's hard to back to my home country, however, being able to walk without a mask and a constant fear to get infected really worth a lot. My sincere gratitude to Vietnamese health officials and medical workers who made it possible. Of course, significant part of the success belongs to people who were following social distancing rules, wearing masks (which is almost a part of Asian culture), businesses that were closed on an early stage of outbreak - measures that other countries were very hesitant to do. And that successful handling of the pandemic has already brought significant benefits to the state, as international investors and manufacturers consider moving to Vietnam from China, something they were looking forward to, as China's biggest competitor in the region.

lucasjans 6y ago
I'm also an expat here and I can second this. Trust in the government is at an all time high. Domestic travel is up 25% over last year. While many retail businesses suffered during the lockdown, life has mostly returned to normal. Albeit, with closed borders.
- Nginx487 6y ago
  >Trust in the government is at an all time high Sure, after successful handling the pandemic. Was a nice surprise for me as well, especially compared to China
- lazylizard 6y ago
  If its any consolation closed borders doesn't bother them as much as the thais who are far more dependent on tourism. Or the singaporeans , who do far more travelling..
- bluekite2000 6y ago
  >Trust in the government is at an all time high. Just to clarify you mean trust in the government to handle the pandemic right?
NicoJuicy 6y ago
Isn't Vietnam too small to be a real competitor to China? I also had the feeling that Vietnam would be more of a redirection for "Made in China", only with the Vietnam label stamped on. I think the only real competitor would be India. But I could be wrong ofc. Feel free to argument.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- adventured 6y ago
  > Isn't Vietnam too small to be a real competitor to China? No. They're too small to compete with China at everything at the same time. They can compete effectively in various industries. Samsung is utilizing Vietnam for 50% of their smartphone & tablet manufacturing for example. Vietnam is a good option for manufacturing diversification. With continued improvements in automation, it should be possible to further scale manufacturing in smaller nations in the coming decades. Jan 2015 [1]: "Samsung Electronics is currently manufacturing 50 percent of its mobile phones in Vietnam and only 8 percent in Korea. At present, Samsung Electronics is running six mobile phone manufacturing facilities in the six countries of Vietnam, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Korea. The two plants in Vietnam have a combined annual production capacity of 240 million units. The two factories in China have a maximum capacity of 150 million phones. However, Samsung is looking to cut their production by approximately 40 million in view of the high labor costs in China." Nov 2019 [2]: "Around 50% of Samsung's smartphones and tablets are produced in Vietnam and exported to 128 countries and territories. As of present, 58% of Samsung's global smartphone sales globally come from its production facilities in Vietnam, according to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc." [1] http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=8785 http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=8... [2] http://hanoitimes.vn/58-of-samsung-smartphones-revenue-come-from-vietnam-production-facilities-pm-300270.html http://hanoitimes.vn/58-of-samsung-smartphones-revenue-come-...
  - NicoJuicy 6y ago
    That's just 1 very big company. I am talking about the majority of companies that is producing in China today.

lucasjans 6y ago

I'm also an expat here and I can second this. Trust in the government is at an all time high. Domestic travel is up 25% over last year. While many retail businesses suffered during the lockdown, life has mostly returned to normal. Albeit, with closed borders.

Nginx487 6y ago
>Trust in the government is at an all time high Sure, after successful handling the pandemic. Was a nice surprise for me as well, especially compared to China
lazylizard 6y ago
If its any consolation closed borders doesn't bother them as much as the thais who are far more dependent on tourism. Or the singaporeans , who do far more travelling..
bluekite2000 6y ago
>Trust in the government is at an all time high. Just to clarify you mean trust in the government to handle the pandemic right?

NicoJuicy 6y ago

Isn't Vietnam too small to be a real competitor to China? I also had the feeling that Vietnam would be more of a redirection for "Made in China", only with the Vietnam label stamped on. I think the only real competitor would be India. But I could be wrong ofc. Feel free to argument.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
adventured 6y ago
> Isn't Vietnam too small to be a real competitor to China? No. They're too small to compete with China at everything at the same time. They can compete effectively in various industries. Samsung is utilizing Vietnam for 50% of their smartphone & tablet manufacturing for example. Vietnam is a good option for manufacturing diversification. With continued improvements in automation, it should be possible to further scale manufacturing in smaller nations in the coming decades. Jan 2015 [1]: "Samsung Electronics is currently manufacturing 50 percent of its mobile phones in Vietnam and only 8 percent in Korea. At present, Samsung Electronics is running six mobile phone manufacturing facilities in the six countries of Vietnam, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Korea. The two plants in Vietnam have a combined annual production capacity of 240 million units. The two factories in China have a maximum capacity of 150 million phones. However, Samsung is looking to cut their production by approximately 40 million in view of the high labor costs in China." Nov 2019 [2]: "Around 50% of Samsung's smartphones and tablets are produced in Vietnam and exported to 128 countries and territories. As of present, 58% of Samsung's global smartphone sales globally come from its production facilities in Vietnam, according to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc." [1] http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=8785 http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=8... [2] http://hanoitimes.vn/58-of-samsung-smartphones-revenue-come-from-vietnam-production-facilities-pm-300270.html http://hanoitimes.vn/58-of-samsung-smartphones-revenue-come-...
- NicoJuicy 6y ago
  That's just 1 very big company. I am talking about the majority of companies that is producing in China today.