In 1988, which was the second year after Vietnam began to permit foreign investment, Chang came by himself to Ho Chi Minh City. Upon inspecting local conditions, he discovered that the natural surroundings in southern Vietnam closely approximate those in the banana growing areas of central and southern Taiwan.
一九八八年，即越南開放外人投資的第二年，張哲發隻身來到胡志明市，觀察環境，他發現南越的自然環境與台灣香蕉產地中南部十分類似。