A brief history of Vietnam

In 1862, under the Second Empire, the French set foot in Cochinchina, the southern part of Vietnam. They completed the conquest through the 1883-1886 Tonkin campaign, during the Third Republic period. World War II ended French domination in Indochina and in 1945, Japan dismantled the former colonial administration. Some months later, just after Japanese capitulation, Viêt Minh, a national liberation movement ruled by the Hô Chi Minh’s Indochinese Communist Party, proclaimed the independence of Vietnam. The French then took back control of the country, but negotiations with the independentists failed and triggered the First Indochina War. In 1954, the French withdrew from former French Indochina, while Geneva Agreements partitioned the country into North Vietnam (or Democratic Republic of Vietnam), ruled by Communists, and South Vietnam (or Republic of Vietnam), firmly Anti-Communist and backed by the United States. The animosity between these two States led to a growing American implication and eventually to the Vietnam War. As the conflict was unpopular and undecided, the United States withdrew in 1973, following the Paris Peace Accords. In 1975, North Vietnam made the decisive move against South Vietnam and the two States officially merged into the still existing Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It was an ally to the Soviet Union during the Cold War and is currently a one-party system with Marxism-Leninism as the official ideology.

You can find many natural wonders in Vietnam, such as the Ha Long Bay or the Sa Pa mountains.

Economy in Vietnam

The Vietnamese economy opened to free-market in the early 90s through the Doi Moi (“Renewal”) policy. In 2016, Vietnam had a 6.2 % growth rate and is now one of the most dynamic ASEAN economies. The country’s goal is to become an industrialised economy by 2020, even if it is still lacking structure reforms, especially for the banking system and public administration.

Supporting projects in Vietnam

Babyloan started helping Vietnam in September 2017 thanks to Thanh Hoa MFI, our local partner. Supporting Vietnamese populations is a priority to our social enterprise.