I am a successful entrepreneur/inventor here in the States and desire to open up a manufacturing company and e-commerce business in Vietnam initially investing as much as US$1-$5MM with projected growth of US$ eight figures revenue within ten years. Typically, such a business would be located in the major metropolitan cities such as Ho Chi Minh City or Ha Noi. However, since one of my main reasons to open a business in Vietnam is to also enjoy a slice of paradise and eventually retire there, I see no reason why I can't open a manufacturing plant and office in Nha Trang or Hoi An?
My three main concerns would be: 1) Manufacturing labor - is the workforce in these two small cities big enough?; 2) How difficult will it be to ship and receive raw materials and product throughout all of Vietnam and also import the raw materials that are not available in Vietnam from China?; 3) Is there a sufficient amount of skilled (educated) workforce available or would such skilled Vietnamese be willing to relocate from the major cities to either of these two cities?
I will soon have a Vietnamese Harvard MBA writing my business plan and be receiving advice from a friend who is a reputable Vietnamese investment banker, so these answers will come in time. However, they're not used to thinking outside the box so I expect they will recommend the typical HCMC or Ha Noi which doesn't appeal to me at all.
What do you think? Am I crazy for thinking Nha Trang or Hoi An for a manufacturing plant and e-commerce business?
Your thoughts on this subject will be much appreciated.