Tokyo to Saigon — Meeting a Vietnamese Business Registration Expert

In January 2023, as the new year began, I had a Zoom meeting with Mr. Suzuki, CEO of a consultancy specializing in company registration in Vietnam. I first met Mr. Suzuki back in the spring of 2019, during a week-long stay in Saigon. At that time, I was exploring the possibility of setting up a company in Vietnam and potentially inviting Vietnamese students to Japan for internships. My ‘research’ mainly consisted of meeting Saigon friends like Hector and visiting places such as Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Hector’s alma mater. With just one day left in my stay, I felt I hadn’t taken any concrete steps forward. On a whim, I Google-searched for Japanese support services for company registration and found Mr. Suzuki’s company. I called, and he agreed to meet me right away. He explained the process of registering a company in Vietnam, pointed out important considerations for starting a business there, and shared insights about the best aspects of Ho Chi Minh City. Although I left saying, ‘I’ll be in touch!’, four years had passed since then, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When we connected on Zoom, I reintroduced myself, reminding him of my visit in 2019. To my gratitude, he replied, ‘I remember you.

First, I explained the circumstances that led to our decision to establish a company in Ho Chi Minh City. ‘It’s good that you already have a team,’ Mr. Suzuki remarked initially. After discussing Vietnam’s current economic situation and recent developments, we delved into the main topic. Starting with questions about capital structure, he provided an overview of board composition, company naming, office lease agreements, and the registration process, interspersing his explanation with questions.

One interesting point was that in Ho Chi Minh City, company names can’t be duplicated within the city. If a company with the same name already exists, you can’t register your company under that name. When he told me to prepare about three candidate names, I was surprised to learn about this rule. This was valuable information, as it could have been problematic if we had already prepared logos or domain names.

Mr. Suzuki also informed me about the office rental situation in Vietnam. He explained that properties are usually handed over as bare shells, requiring interior work, and that deposits are often necessary.

While I gained a clearer picture of the steps leading up to registration, it was evident that there were more steps involved than in setting up a company in Japan. There were complex areas and costs that were higher than I had anticipated. Although I was prepared for challenges, I honestly felt overwhelmed.

The most perplexing issue was the difficulty and complexity of the initial office lease agreement process. In Vietnam, having a contracted office is essential for company registration, but you need a company to enter into a corporate lease agreement for that office. Wait, what? How does that work? If you rent as an individual, apparently, various expenses incurred before the company is registered aren’t recognized as business expenses in Vietnam.

As my head started to spin, I suddenly remembered something the community manager had mentioned when I visited a coworking space a few days ago. They had said that company registration was possible even with a private room there (sometimes called a serviced office).

When I asked Mr. Suzuki about this, he advised that starting with a ‘serviced office’ could be one approach. It seemed that besides coworking space private rooms, there were other similar rental arrangements, all collectively referred to as serviced offices in Vietnam.

I immediately asked Hector to investigate serviced office options as well.

To be continued.

Thank you for reading this second installment of my entrepreneurial journey.

Please note that while I’ve shared details about the process of registering a company in Vietnam, I’m not a lawyer, and I can’t guarantee that all the information provided is 100% accurate in terms of Vietnamese law or common practice. This blog post is based on my personal experiences and understanding.

As this story continues to unfold, I’d like to remind you about our company, Goldrush Computing Inc., based in Tokyo. Our team’s expertise spans the entire spectrum of service creation:

• We start from the ground up, assisting with requirements gathering, UX design, and UI development.
• Our involvement continues through development, testing, and post-launch analysis of usage, crashes, and issues.
• We’re committed to our clients’ long-term success, providing ongoing support and optimization.
• Our technical prowess covers Web, Mobile, Backend, and Infrastructure/DevOps environments.
• Currently, we’re focusing on cutting-edge Data Science and AI service development.

While our roots are in Japan, we’re eager to collaborate with clients and partners from all corners of the globe. If you’re interested in working with a team that combines technical expertise with a global perspective, we’d love to hear from you.

For more information about our services, please visit our website: https://goldrushcomputing.com/en

If you have any questions or would like to discuss potential collaborations, feel free to reach out to me directly at: mizutori@goldrushcomputing.com

Stay tuned for the next chapter in this cross-cultural business adventure!