ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the socio-economic context in which the industrial firms of Vietnam began their development and continued it over time. The first industrial activities in Vietnam occurred in the period of French colonialism. Among the different industrial facilities set up by the French, textiles were one of the most important. For example, a textile factory set up in Namdinh province had already 2,000 workers in 1920 with a profit of about 52 millions francs. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born in September 1945. Due to the first Indochina war starting in 1946, the newly born government of Vietnam had to withdraw from the cities and evacuate to mountainous and countryside areas. The unification of North and South had some impacts on technological development of the country. It led to the combination of strengths of two regions in terms of natural resources and technical labour forces.
