4 November 2022

Thirty executive MBA students from Waikato Management School participated in a specially tailored Market Readiness Programme to prepare them for their Vietnam study tour. 

Titled “Vietnam: The rising star economy in Asia”, the customised programme is a combo of The Southeast Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence’s flagship Market Readiness Programme (MRP) and Let’s Talk ASEAN series and was held at Waikato University’s Tauranga campus on 29 October. 

The half day programme focused on enabling students to understand Vietnam’s unique position as a trade and investment destination for New Zealand companies, as well as cultural and business challenges in engaging with the Vietnamese market. 

Associate Professor Thu Phuong Truong from Victoria University of Wellington and Dr Grigorij Ljubownikow from Auckland University provided the academic expertise, while Khoa Nguyen, Director of Viet River Holdings Ltd., and Sarah Ma, Vice-President of Manawatū Young Chamber, gave their business and cultural perspectives.  

The workshop covered the macroenvironments and competitive landscape of Vietnam. With case studies such as Coca Cola, the speakers discussed market strategies for competing in Vietnam. This is especially useful as the students will be embarking on their Hanoi study tour in November and visiting the company in person.  

Participants were particularly interested in the cultural insights from the speakers and were enthusiastically asking questions about them.  

“We greatly appreciate you all sharing your time and your expertise with our intrepid Waikato MBA students”, remarked Professor Brad Jackson, MBA Director at Waikato University. 

Market readiness workshops provide businesses with an overview of potential ASEAN markets and the tools, knowledge and mindset to engage with the region. Such workshops can also be tailored to country specific modules such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. 

SEA CAPE can also customise the programme with partners to their scope and expand accordingly depending on the evolving needs of the audience. For instance, a customised Singapore/Malaysia module was run for students participating in SEA CAPE’s Tertiary Market Immersion Programme in Auckland in June 2022. 

Find out more about the Market Readiness Programme here or get in touch with SEA CAPE.