exploreasean day 11 - ABB & Foreign trade university (by marco claver & Gil Aebischer)

After the free weekend, on which the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, could be explored, the company visits started again on Monday, April 8th. In the morning we were welcomed by ABB Vietnam. The company presentation gave us an insight into the 26 years lasting history of the technology company with locations in Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Hanoi & HCMC. They also shared their future forecasts & expectations regarding industry 4.0 & digitization of the Vietnamese market. ABB is entering into various partnerships to exploit synergies. These include among others Microsoft and IBM. The tour continued with a visit of three different production lines of high voltage components. After lunch in the ABB canteen we drove with our car back to Hanoi to the renowned Foreign Trade University (FTU), where we were welcomed by the International Business Club. The students presented facts about the ASEAN marketplace and the history of the university founded in 1960 and their business club. We were also introduced to the political and economic situation in Vietnam and its educational system. Finally, we were presented with their views on the opportunities for market entry in Vietnam and the opportunities when doing business in Vietnam. After the exciting presentations we discussed the different topics intensively. In the evening at the hotel our project team organized a surprise for our on-site manager Kevin to celebrate his birthday together with him. There was Vietnamese chicken rice cake and cold beer.
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