Thailand and Vietnam are major destinations for foreign direct
investment (FDI) in Asia, resulting in significant levels of
cross-border transactions. According to the World Bank, in 2018 and
2019 Thailand attracted a combined net inflow of about USD 18
billion in FDI. During the same period, net inflows to Vietnam were
USD 31.62 billion. These high volumes of inbound investment
inevitably lead to a higher risk of disputes with everyone from
suppliers, contractors, joint venture partners, borrowers, and of
course state-owned companies and government agencies.
International arbitration is a viable means of handling such
disputes. Both Thailand and Vietnam are contracting states to the
United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of
Foreign Arbitral Awards (the "New York Convention"), so
arbitral awards from other member states are enforceable. With this
in mind, an international arbitration award has to be enforced.
This usually means filing cases in
