HANOI'S RISE

Vietnam’s capital brims with a youthful, optimistic energy as the country ’s economy surges ahead

- Michael Allen

When veteran Hanoi-based lawyer Tony Foster went to his office during the last week of February, he had to make his way past machine gun-toting Vietnamese and North Korean guards, armored cars, and snipers manning the rooftops. It was the week of the two-day summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un that, despite not ending in a favorable outcome for the US President and North Korean supreme leader, drew the attention of the international community to Vietnam’s capital.

“Our office is right next to where Kim was staying, so it was a hell of an inconvenience because we were told originally we were not going to be able to go to the office for three days – but we complained and got special passes,” says Foster, a partner at Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

The summit may have been a temporary inconvenience for those working in the area, but it has done wonders for Hanoi’s standing on the global stage, showing that Vietnam and its capital city can be relevant in international politics and economics, according to Filippo Bortoletti, deputy manager of Dezan Shira & Associates’ international business advisory in Hanoi. “Even if in that meeting nothing happened specifically, still the fact that they met in Hanoi is significant. It had a big impact, maybe not on Vietnamese people, but on how foreign people perceive Vietnam,” he says.

But those already living and working in Hanoi, whether locals or foreigners, didn’t need the summit to know that their city, where an incredible 39.8 percent of the population is below 24 years old, is on an exciting economic growth trajectory. First-time visitors to Hanoi cannot fail to notice the buzzing atmosphere of youthful optimism that pervades the city.