This paper examines the role foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) played in
Vietnamese firm exports during 2010-2013. Consistent with patterns observed in commodity
export data, MNEs are found to account for the majority of firm exports during this period.
Wholly-foreign MNEs (WFs), which accounted for the vast majority of MNE production in
Vietnam, accounted for most MNE exports. Both WFs and MNE joint ventures (JV) made
larger direct contributions to exports than to production or employment, as observed in other
Asian developing economies. There was a strong tendency for WFs to have the highest export
propensities (export-turnover ratios) followed by JVs. Manufacturing firms exported over
four-fifths of the total in most years. Tobit estimates that controlled for the effects of firm size,
capital intensity, liquidity, location, and industry affiliation for manufacturers indicate WFs
also had the highest conditional export propensities, followed by JVs, private firms, while
export propensities tended to be similar in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private firms
in most industries. Because Vietnam imposes few ownership restrictions on MNEs, these
results imply that MNEs generally prefer to export from WFs rather than JVs, and are
consistent with previous results for Thailand and Indonesia, for example.