Howard,

I have spent over a quarter of my life in Asia and operate 3 companies
in 3 different Asian countries and have a somewhat different
perspective than Brad.

> I have some experience in this field. I would highly suggest you don't
> do any work until they pay for it up front.

This is standard international practice, and there have been a number
of discussions about this on the list. But in the case of Asia, you
could ask for anything up to a 30% deposit, then offer a 'crippled'
product - showing the functionality (you know what was required, and
you know what you are doing) then stops working or goes 'crazy' after
10 minutes - in other words, useless. At this point ask for another 40%
and 30% on completion. This can all be negotiated up front.

> Also, do not trust them. What you put in writing is of little or no
> value.

This goes for ANY company outside your own Jurisdiction of Law. I know
a small Chinese company that was been cheated by a Canadian company -
simply by not following some basic steps that I had advised them to do!

> There are no patent protection.

I can not comment on Vietnam, but I find this hard to believe. The USA
has certainly rushed headlong back into Vietnam and I am sure they
would not have done this without patent protection. Patents are only
useful if a) you have one and b) you are prepared to go to litigation -
in any country.

> They will most likely steal any work and duplicate it. (My experience)

In 12 years of running my own company and selling into Asia - including
Vietnam and China - the only people that have ripped off my products
are my own countrymen (Australians) and Americans. :-)

> They don't do work like in USA.

Fortunately! I bet that was typed on an Asian made computer - despite
what the label on the back says!

> They use whatever means possible to
> obtain their end. They don't follow rules.

Wrong.

> They like bribes.

In 12 years of running my own businesses in Asia, I could honestly say
up until 2 months ago that I had NEVER paid a bribe. In that time, we
had been asked (hinted at) only once and when we first established our
Taiwan office, I was told by my staff that I would get a visit from the
Tax Office and I would have to present them with a "Red Envelope". I
gave my staff the day off, made them tea and chatted with them in my
(suddenly poorer) Chinese. Never heard from them again. We pay our
taxes and get a refund every other month. Pretty cool.

However, two months ago, I had a container leaving China and there was
a glitch (or a perceived glitch) with our export license. The gear was
already late, and my cashflow was hurting. My staff in China said the
problem could go away if we paid a "Special Fee". I authorised the
payment (to my staff's surprise), the problem went away and the gear
was shipped. These are my only experiences with bribes in almost 20
years of doing business in Asia.

> They are sluggish and lazy in general, at least in government
> positions.

Perhaps in government positions, but the Vietnamese people are far from
sluggish and lazy.

If you want any help, let me know off list. We have an office in
Bangkok and *some* contacts in Vietnam - not heaps. Doing business in
Asia is all about attitude and relationships. It can be done right with
mutual success or it can be done wrong.

Cheers,

Sean

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