AmCham Vietnam Weekly eNewsletter - 14th Week of 2022

Weekly eNewsletter

14th Week of 2022 - April 5, 2022

AmCham Vietnam’s Vision:

We strive to continue to be the most influential, strategic, and dynamic business association in Vietnam.

AmCham welcomes American, Vietnamese, and international companies that share our interest in enabling a fair, transparent, predictable, and efficient regulatory environment that values innovation.

We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as environment, social, and governance values and aim to be a community you want to join.

www.amchamvietnam.com

Dear ,

The rainy season has arrived in HCMC, bringing a pleasant reprieve from the heat. It’s also making the flowers in my neighborhood thrive – particularly my neighbor’s orchids. So happy he put the special ones out again for me to enjoy on my morning dog walks when they are most fragrant! Just remember to take an umbrella as well as a mask when you go out!! And expect to wait even longer for that taxi, Grab, Gojek, or Be…

April 22-24 Da Nang AmCham-U.S. Mission Leadership Weekend. Register now for this invaluable opportunity to join a strategy session with senior U.S. Mission leadership in Vietnam and AmCham colleagues from throughout the country. There will be plenty of informal activities to expand your professional and personal networks, and time to enjoy the beautiful spring weather, beaches, and golf courses of Da Nang, and cultural heritage of Hoi An! Spouses, partners, and family members welcome!! LINK

Other Recent and Upcoming Events, Committee Leadership Opportunities, and Meetings

Best Practices for Committee Leaders. Are you a Committee Leader or aspiring to become one? On March 30, we held one of our semi-annual meetings between our Board of Governors liaisons in HCMC and Da Nang and leadership of our 18 active committees to share best practices and lessons learned. This time we held the meeting virtually to be more inclusive of Committee leadership throughout the country and region, and followed it up with our in-person monthly Connect & Cocktail professional networking event, this month at Pasteur Street Brewing in D3. Former AmCham Vietnam Chair in HCMC and former Co-Chair of both the Manufacturing and Healthcare Committees Jonathan Moreno joined us as a Committee Coach and Mentor to share best practices. ESG Committee Co-Chair Van Ly and Digital Economy and Technology Committee Co-Chair Kenny Bench shared their committee strategic plans and best practices they have adopted – including by joining virtually other committee meetings and observing their approaches. Check out Jonathan’s presentation as a reference to existing and aspiring Committee leaders and Board Liaisons. LINK

Spring Ball a Resounding Success! Many thanks to all our sponsors, donors, auctioneers, bidders, and guests at our March 19^th first-ever AmCham Spring Ball, The Secret Garden, at the Park Hyatt Saigon!! And the talented members of the Ball Committee that made it all happen in just over one month!! Thanks to your support, it was a magical evening, we raised the highest-ever results from our live auction, and good results from our silent auction and raffle sales, too, despite only having about half the number far fewer participants than at our traditional December Governors Ball. Together with corporate sponsorship, we expect to be able to maintain our AmCham Scholarship and Women in Engineering Scholarship programs – and possibly increase the scholarship amounts! AmCham’s charity balls fund our flagship CSR scholarship programs, a key part of our commitment to Invest in the Future and develop a globally competitive workforce here in Vietnam. Plan now for our December 10 Governors’ Ball at the InterContinental Saigon, followed by Santa’s Breakfast on December 11!

Committee Meetings. We were delighted to welcome members to join our Capital Markets and Financial Services Committee (CMFSC) Meeting on Monday, April 4 at 4PM, featuring a special briefing on Vietnam’s stock market from VinaCapital’s Head of Research Ismael Pili, as well as Committee leadership elections. We look forward to seeing members at our Education & Training Committee Meeting on Wednesday, April 6 at 9AM to discuss this year’s draft Committee Strategic Plan. And we welcome all those interested in joining our Sustainable Finance Subcommittee (of both our CMFSC and our ESG Committee) to join a special launch meeting on Thursday, April 7 from 5:30-7:30PM.

Leadership Opportunities. Most committees have now held their leadership elections, but there are always opportunities to contribute, either as a member of the leadership team or if you are interested. A few committees are still soliciting interest from potential candidates interested in serving in leadership positions. Elections for most committees have already taken place – a couple will take place in April. If you are interested in serving in a leadership role, please contact existing Committee leaders, Board Liaisons, or Events and Committees Manager Lily Nguyen at lily.nguyen@amchamvietnam.com. And don’t worry if you have missed the elections; there are always opportunities to contribute if you are interested! Committee meetings are now open to both masked in-person (for fully-vaxed) and virtual participation. Please register in advance. All AmCham Vietnam members are welcome to join.

AmCham Membership Renewal. For many of you, it's time to renew your membership for 2022 and continue your involvement in AmCham, with opportunities for professional networking, business intelligence, advocacy to improve the business environment, and promotion of your business. We have been sending out 2022 Membership Renewal notices via email. We hope you all will renew promptly and that many will consider upgrading to become Premium Members! If you haven’t yet received your renewal notice, please contact Membership Manager Sam Hoang.

Ly Gia Vien Company Limited a New Premium Corporate Member: We are delighted to welcome Ly Gia Vien Company Limited as a Premium Member at the Gold-level and value its support. AmCham Premium Corporate Membership: AmCham Premium membership offers the opportunity for qualified companies to highlight your status as business leaders and your strategic support for AmCham Vietnam’s mission and programs. Premium Membership offers a range of benefits, and exclusive VIP access. Customized packages are available. To learn more, see LINK or contact Office Manager Cindy Tran.

We hope you all enjoy the upcoming Hung Kings holidays! Our AmCham team will be having our long-overdue team outing, this time at Holiday Inn Resort Ho Tram! We and our weekly newsletter will be back on Tuesday, April 12^th.

Thank you for your continued support – let us know how we can do better at team@amchamvietnam.com! Regards, Mary

Greetings from Da Nang and I hope you are all well! Great to see the increased tourists this weekend as well as the reopening of many restaurants, spas, and other services. Finally we see the start of normalcy. Keep it up!

COVID-19 Update from Healthcare Provider Subcommittee Chair

Dr. Mason Cobb and Andrew Meadows

Let It Be.

For more information, LINK (to COVID page).

Advocacy

AmCham’s Healthcare Committee was honored to meet on March 31 with Ambassador Marc Knapper and members of the U.S. Mission healthcare team for a U.S. Healthcare Industry Dialogue, together with colleagues from AmCham Hanoi and the US-ASEAN Business Council. Committee Co-Chairs Chris Blank and Luke Treloar introduced the Committee’s draft 2022 Whitebook, while other members of the Committee’s leadership team briefed on key sectoral opportunities and challenges. We focused on: Partnering Through the Pandemic and Endemic; Maintaining Sustainable Access to Innovative Lifesaving Drugs and Devices and Quality Nutrition Products; and the Future of Healthcare Management and Innovation. Many thanks to HCMC Board members MSD’s Dr. Lan and Pfizer’s JP Pullicino for coordinating planning for the event, Lucas Fortier for editing the Whitebook, and Dr. Lan for hosting the in-person participants! We hope to hold a U.S.-Vietnam Healthcare Dialogue soon to partner on promoting health and wellness in Vietnam!

Several AmCham members across different sectors have concerns about early onset implementation provisions of Decree 8 and Circular on the Environmental Protection Law. Please let us know if you have concerns – and join our April 14^th ESG Committee meeting to discuss!

We welcome your feedback on these and other issues to ensure we are aware of your top concerns. This report and prior Advocacy Reports are available on AmCham’s Advocacy page. LINK. Please send your feedback on what is working, what issues remain, and recommended solutions to relevant Committee Chairs, advocacyaction@amchamvietnam.com

Committee Meetings & Activities (For AmCham Members only)

April 4: Capital Markets and Financial Services Committee (CMFSC) Meeting

April 6: Education & Training Committee Meeting

April 7: Sustainable Finance Subcommittee Launch. Cut off registration at 5pm, April 5, 2022.

April 12: Energy Committee Meeting

April 13: Legal & VBF Liaison Committee Meeting

April 14: Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee Meeting

April 15: Agriculture Committee Meeting

Key Media Updates

Stay informed about key developments affecting your business by checking frequently – updated regularly on weekdays. On weekends, stay informed and connected through AmCham’s Facebook, Linked IN, and Instagram. LINK to our Key Media Updates.