In 2014, Vietnam's textile and garment sector saw a 16 per cent rise in the level of exports. While exporting garments is big business in Vietnam, investors should not ignore the growing opportunities to import products into the country and to take advantage of the growing consumer market there. In order to conduct import, export, and distribution activities in Vietnam, the best investment strategy tends to be to set up a trading company.

Generally, a trading company is inexpensive to establish and can be of great assistance to foreign investors by combining both sourcing and quality control activities with purchasing and export facilities, thus providing more control and quicker reaction times compared to sourcing purely while based overseas.

The strong predicted growth in the garment sector is the result of a number of free trade agreements that Vietnam is currently negotiating. Chief among these is the Trans Pacific Partnership, a US-led agreement involving 12 nations. Upon completion, the TPP trade area would comprise a region with $28 trillion in economic output, making up around 39 per cent of the world’s total output. If the TPP is successfully implemented, tariffs will be removed on almost $2 trillion in goods and services exchanged between the signatory countries.

Vietnam has also signed or is in the final stages of negotiations FTAs with South Korea, the European Union, and the customs union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia.