TERMS OF REFERENCE

For Market Research on ‘Investing in Vietnam’s Manufacturing Industry’

A. Objectives/Purpose of Assignment
Back ground
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) is the Australian Government
agency responsible for promoting trade, investment and international education, and tourism
policy, programs and research. Austrade contributes to Australia’s economic prosperity by
helping Australian businesses, education institutions, tourism operators, governments and
citizens as they:
 develop international markets and promote international education
 win productive foreign direct investment
 strengthen Australia’s tourism industry
 seek consular and passport services.

In Vietnam, Austrade is active in key sectors of Education, Agriculture, Resources & Energy,
Infrastructure, Services and Manufacturing. In recent year, Austrade is receiving an increasing
amount of enquiries from Australian companies looking to invest in Vietnam, particularly in
manufacturing. The rationale is usually either to have another base in their global supply chain,
or to have a manufacturing base to service increasing sales within the Asia region, particularly
within ASEAN.

As such, Austrade now seeks to engage a consulting firm (“Firm”) or independent experts to
conduct a mapping exercise on Manufacturing Industry in Vietnam in order to scope out
potential subsectors that may be of advantage and interest for Australian manufacturing
companies. In particular, Austrade Vietnam would like to have a helpful report we can share
with Australian clients that is marketable (i.e. graphic designed including infographics) as well
as having a suite of information that allows them to understand the key considerations of
setting up a manufacturing business in Vietnam. The report will help profiling Vietnam as a
potential regional manufacturing base for Australian companies.

B. Scope of work

What do our clients need from a report?

The following section will present a guide (in no particular order) for the Consultant on key
main content that we expect to be included in the report.
 Basic economy overview/drivers
 An understanding of how manufacturing fits into Vietnam’s economy
 Vietnam’s strategic/advantageous position in manufacturing
 Key case studies Australian (we will provide contacts/links to these companies)
 Vietnam’s FTA’s and impact on manufacturing
 Vietnam’s comparative competitive advantages in manufacturing (with comparative
infographics with competitor ASEAN markets)
 Options for setting up manufacturing in Vietnam (we are not in the business of
helping “sourcing or importing – so the report should stick to investment in Vietnam).
 We are aware however of examples of some companies leasing sites in IP’s so
including options/models such as this are important.
 Incentives to invest in manufacturing
 Challenges/risks
 Basic market entry paths for manufacturing
 Industrial Parks system (including breakdown on how they work/operate in Vietnam)
 Proposed SEZ’s.
 Supply chain advantages/issues
 Labor trends/basic overview of hiring including employment of expatriates (i.e.
supervisors/managers in set up of manufacturing)
 Key Industries of importance to Australian industry:
o Highlighting key areas of interest to Australian capability:
 Aviation & Aerospace
 Civil marine/ship building/boat manufacturing
 Future Vehicles/Auto Aftermarket.
 Advanced Manufacturing – Disruptive manufacturing
 Industry 4.0 and disruptive technologies in manufacturing
 Defence industry
o Within these sub-sectors cover:
 Industrial structure of the sub sector, key players, average cost of
producing export-quality products and challenges.
 Industrial structure and geographic location for these manufacturing
sub-sectors: policies and incentives, regulatory environment, location
for setting up manufacturing facilities.
 IP/Provincial industrial clusters. Where is the hub or recommended
IPs/provinces for these sub-sectors
o Vietnam’s trends/advancements towards:
 manufacturing capability in areas such as automation and the
connectivity of systems (known as the Internet of Things (IoT)
 Cyber security, better use of data and improvement in artificial
intelligence technologies.
 R&D of future technologies in universities

 Appendices of major players involved in setting up manufacturing/licensing (IP’s,

SEZ’s, Government authorities, VCCI, Austrade, Auscham). We do not need names or
titles of people rather websites and basic contact details/ possible blurbs as to their
role in manufacturing investment).

What it will not cover?

 Importing/source manufacturing
 “Outsourcing” – language should steer clear of this. Our role is to help companies set
up regional bases in addition to their Australian bases, rather than outsourcing. Labor
rates and other matters that make Vietnam extremely competitive should still be
highlighted from a potential investment angle.

Report Parameters:
 o Title of report: yet to be decided. Welcome suggestions taking into account purpose
and scope;
o The report would be in Austrade’s name as a public marketable Austrade document
(we are paying for the research/copywriting/design content.)
o The report should be delivered by 2nd week of June 2019 (interim report due last
week of May)

Proposals of interest:
o Due back to Austrade by 2nd week of April 2019.