Knoman Services Limited (KSL) is a Hongkong based partner of International Business associates based in Long Beach, California, USA. KSL has the responsibility to Research and Develop business partners and pioneering operations in Asia. 

We currently service several large companies in North Vietnam and consult for the University of Technology, at Bach Khoa in Hanoi. We are associated with the Center for Information and Technology Transfer (CICTT) of Bach Khoa and assist with training programs as well as individual instruction for small and medium enterprises and CEO's with their staff here in Hanoi. 

We have been in Vietnam for 8 years and would enjoy helping you find out how you can help this emerging market nation develop. 

If we can be of service, let us know, we love to help people. 

• Rev. Robert W. Watts
  
• Director of Missions
  
• Miracle Valley Bible College
  
• 9224 E. Highway 92
  
• Hereford, Arizona 85615
  
• Phone 1-520-366-0149
  
• Fax 1-520-366-0150
  
• Personal Mail
  
• The Watts
  
• P.O. Box 4147
  
• Bisbee Arizona 85603
  
  
• Websites
  
• http://www.sommerhaven.com/mission.html
  
• http://www.romnick.com/Watts
  
• Email bobby@romnick.com  

About Vietnam. 

I will offer some links to sites for you to browse at this point, as there are quite a few sites available with statistics. Having been in Vietnam for some time, I believe half of what I read and less of what I see. Lets visit some sites and see what they have to say about the current state of affairs. If we read them all we may come up with some sound ideas of what is currently happening in Vietnam. 

Links for financial and tourist information 

A wonderful opportunity to visit Vietnam as a tourist. I trust these folks. You will find that Max and Mado will orchestrate a tour that you will love and cherish your whole life. 

Who can better tell you the latest scoop on Vietnam, correct or not? 

A wonderful place to start. The VietNam Multimedia Archive at Sunsite.Unc.Edu. This archive consists of a number of JPEGs and GIFs, MIDI sequences and RealAudio clips, distributed among the following categories : Scenery, people, arts, monuments, history, poetry,... This site also includes information about Vietnam travels, Arts, and etc... 

An annotated bibliography of books about Vietnam which are for sale online through Amazon Books. 

What Business Can be done? 

Vietnam is surely not for the faint hearted. The Asian way of doing business (not always the best) is that of relations, or cronisim. If you know the right people, if you have the right business, if it is the right time, you win. You can come into Vietnam, do your business and make a handsome profit. 

By far and away, the most profitable businesses in Vietnam at present are those which serve the foreign community. Be it hotels or sport clubs, bars or restaurants, this might be the very best place for you to come and have your say in the future of Vietnam. 

Of course, employees of companies who have set their salaries outside the country and are here in the professional sense as hired liaisons, are probably the best off (though not often the best to talk to about business). 

There are quite a few consultants around who are more than happy to arrange a wedding, but it might behoove you to find one that is willing to invest more than their paid state of affairs into your venture. 

Roofing companies, Automobile leasing companies, Equipment leasing companies and foreign banks come to mind as ventures that have shown profits over the past six years. Along with a host of small mom and pop businesses, there is opportunity for you to come to know Vietnam and the Vietnamese as we have. 

There is a tremendous desire to buy products made in the USA, but you will need to be able to front the business here before you come. You will need to import and supply yourself as well as provide sales and after service. This may not be a problem as long as you do not look to American banks or their associates for assistance to carry you in the business. Several well known companies have come and slowly built their business up to a profitable level by understanding Vietnam, it's ways and means. 

Where can business be done?

There are a number of excellent opportunities, if you are not feint hearted. Vietnam is not a "get rich quick" place nor one for "hit and run" artists. Since the Vietnamese have essentially been at war for the past 4,000 years, it would behoove you to take a minute, plan your business well and execute your business plan with a long term view toward the future. The Government of Vietnam is a "Fox Hole" group of good old boys that have spent time in the trenches together, maintaining a desire to help and protect each other as their highest priority. 

Roofing Companies, Manufacturing businesses, Service Companies, Training Companies and more, actually make profits in North Vietnam. Though there are many (many more than the government of Vietnam would like you to know about) that do not make a profit in Vietnam, there are some, both large and small who do. 

If you are doing business, or would like to start doing business in Vietnam, let us know and we will either provide you with the assistance you need or introduce you to someone who can "make it happen in Vietnam." 

Exasperating though it might be, if you have the "pioneer," or "cowboy" nature, this is a home away from home for you. 

How can we do business?

If you would like someone on the ground in Hanoi and North Vietnam, there are many excellent choices. There are quite a few people who have been around in North Vietnam for a long time. There are several that work behind the lines and get the job done as well as those international moguls. 

Today, Asia is waiting for someone with a "Vulture Fund," to come out and buy great ideas and businesses that were undercapitalized or underpinned by other Asian business ventures. The hotels, resorts and businesses which were funded by expatriate Asians are now penniless or strained to the point of breaking. 

Let us know what area you would like to work in, let us know when you would like to begin and give us some details. We will work out some ideas for you and give you a ring. 

Who can you work with?

Of course, you can use your search engines on the World Wide Web and cruse around until you find the right site with the right information and connect with the right people. You might also want to ask for a current list of businesses now working in Vietnam or contact Desta at the AMCHAM (84 4) 934 0325 Hanoi for some phone numbers which might change your life. 

You may, if you choose, go it alone and open a wholly foreign owned enterprise. You might want to start some flavor of joint venture. There are those that have come and made life long friends in Vietnam and are still enjoying that family relationship years later. 

A company which is successful in Vietnam, contacted the Vietnamese Government, asking for a Joint Venture Partner and recently sold their share of the business at a very handsome profit. 

Another company invested in a family owned business, holding their share of the company off shore, keeping their profits moving outside the country. Everyone was quite happy with the arrangement. 

A third company is a wholly owned foreign investment. This company does a great business and is very pleased to be here. 

Which ever you choose, you will have travel, adventure and a whole new culture under your belt for the experience you are about to gain. 

Several of the Foreign Embassies in town have compounds where you can retreat and think you are not in Vietnam, if only for a short time. The hotels, offices and retreats have become so well established that many people come to Vietnam without ever leaving their home country. 

You can come to Vietnam and hang out with the people that do not know Vietnam outside their 5 star hotels or you can find the pioneers who have gone native. 

So, you have your choice. 

What is your next step? 

Take a look at some of the excellent Web sites and get a feel for the current situation in Vietnam. Contact some of the people listed on the Web and find out what their current state of affairs is and make some friends. 

Decide that you want to give it a try. 

Contact us for more details about what is next. 

Get to know us and begin an exciting adventure. 

Who is in town? 

We work closely with the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam. There are several wonderful business organizations in Vietnam and as Vietnam grows in international Stature, there will be more. Though the foreign community is still quite small in North Vietnam, I am sure you will find friends and associates who will make you feel right at home. 

Contact us and we will provide you with the information you will need to do business here in North Vietnam. Vietnam is exciting and provides an excellent opportunity to practice your well founded business tactics, expand your horizons and take a shot at making your life richer both physically and mentally for the experience. 

Now what? 
Your move! You will need a strong heart, sound financing and the ability roll with a considerable number of cross cultural punches. Now, do your homework, read the Web sites on Vietnam, make contacts and buy a plane ticket. For those of you who cannot see much in Vietnam, take a look at the map. Just to the west of Vietnam is an interesting country which is land locked. 

Email, Write, Fax or give us a call and lets see what we can do about opening the doors to a bright and shining future in Vietnam. 

• Robert W. Watts 
  CEO, KSL 
  35B, Nguyen Binh Khim 
  Dong Da, Hanoi, 
  SR Vietnam 
  Phone (84 4) 822 5373 
  Fax (84 4) 822 9713 
  Email bobby@romnick.com

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