Vietnam’s first and only electric vehicle maker, VinFast, is being sued in the US for unpaid rent. Real estate services firm SPG Center is reportedly chasing arrears from a rental agreement of US$356,000. VinFast has denied the claim.

Of note, a lot of the challenges VinFast has faced entering the US market can largely be traced back to fundamental differences between doing business in Vietnam and doing business in the United States, and a failure to properly understand the differences between the two. 

For example, in Vietnam, it’s common practice to pay-off journalists or refer them to the police for negative news coverage. It’s also not uncommon for bills and salaries and rent to go unpaid for sometimes months at a time. In developed markets like the US, however, this just doesn’t fly.

With this in mind, firms looking to engage in developed-developing economy trade would do well to take a course in cross-cultural business practices and communications.