Ex-diplomats start businesses in Vietnam
Former French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean-Noël Poirier and former New Zealand Ambassador Haike Manning both served in Vietnam from 2012 to 2016 – a tenure which left such an impression on each of them that they both chose to stay in the country following their ambassadorships. Ex-ambassador’s laundromat service Former French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean-Noël Poirier left diplomatic service following his term in Vietnam, but he didn’t choose to leave the country. Instead, he opened three laundromats in Hanoi, one of which managed to stay open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while the other two only recently reopened following financial hardship brought about by the coronavirus. But laundromats are just a side hustle for Porier. When he’s not busy making sure Hanoians have clean clothes, he manages a foreign investment consulting business in the Southeast Asian country. While the pandemic essentially put a hold on foreign investment in Vietnam, the country’s rapid economic recov