Apparel Factory Index

There are a number of indices available for VietNam. Even Alibaba can be used to filter VN sources.

A typical, but incomplete, index is: < http://vietnam.panpages.com/ >. Replace the VietNam with www and you get the whole of Asia.

There are at least three 'Yellow Pages' so use Google to find them. The skill of crafting search terms, and variants, is key to extracting the most data. It is a never ending learning process and I have 3 dedicated searchers employed at it!

You will also need and index of VN telephone area codes and a good knowledge of geography or a Gazetteer. The area codes with help you skewer the province.

For example, in An Cu there is a T-shirt manufacturer with around 2,000 machines (24/7 operation). To you, most likely, An Cu sounds like it's in the boon docks. Actually it is a southern suburb of Hue.

These types of plants are dotted all over and not always in the obvious places near material sources.

Another source of data is the international registry that has copies of Bills of Lading which shows who is exporting what, fro/to where and to whom. It is a fairly accurate for mundane goods but not for military supplies.

Sir Alex,

The international registry might not work too well for you because some of the smaller Vietnamese manufacturers just do sub-contract works.  I think if you have the time and man power, you should seek out these folks.  There used to be a lot of them in the Tan Binh area. 

I also used the Vietnamese yellow pages, when I was still in the industry.  I don't know if they still have them in HCMC anymore.  Also, try your trim suppliers or the equipment vendors in Tan Binh; they usually know those type of manufacturers too.

Howie