AmCham Vietnam Weekly eNewsletter - 17th Week of 2022

Weekly eNewsletter

17th Week of 2022 - April 26, 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 ,

A few photos from my Sunday am walk on the beach after the official program of our Da Nang AmCham-U.S. Mission Leadership Weekend 2022 had ended. I think some of our participants may have just called it a night. I momentarily forgot the 8:30am meeting I had agreed to with Da Nang Chair Chris Vanloon and the Da Nang Young Business Association Chairman. And the 9:15am investment promotion video with Da Nang Investment Promotion Agency… I hope those of you who joined our weekend in Da Nang had both a productive weekend – and some time to relax and enjoy Da Nang and Hoi An!! If you haven’t yet, please complete the survey you were emailed – we value your feedback!

Lots of Networking Opportunities this week and next! Don’t miss all our upcoming events, particularly the April 27 Connect & Cocktails at Heart of Darkness, and our Cinco de Mayo celebration at District Federal in Thao Dien on Saturday, May 7. Register now!!!!

Meeting with Da Nang People’s Committee. It’s great to see Da Nang back in business! AmCham Da Nang Chair Chris Vanloon led an AmCham meeting on April 22 with Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh and members of the Da Nang People’s Committee to discuss how to partner to drive economic recovery, innovation, and sustainable growth in Da Nang and Central Vietnam, particularly in high-tech and software. It has been almost two years since AmCham Da Nang was established in June 2020, with the support of Vice Chairman Minh. While COVID outbreaks slowed down our provincial outreach plans, we are eager to partner to expand U.S.-Vietnam trade and investment ties in Da Nang and Central Vietnam, and grow the AmCham community! Chairman Vanloon was accompanied by members of the Da Nang Board of Governors representing Evergreen Labs, Lovepop, and DDP Projects, with HCMC Chair Winnie Wong, AmCham Vietnam Executive Director Mary Tarnowka, and representatives from Da Nang and Central Da Nang-based businesses Universal Alloy Vietnam, Coca-Cola Vietnam, Lodgis/Fusion, and TMG/Blu. AmCham members shared their appreciation for the Da Nang government’s successful reopening and both sides expressed their commitment to continued partnership to grow trade and investment ties. AmCham is invested in Vietnam and invested in Da Nang and Central Vietnam. We believe Da Nang is a great place to live, work, and invest!

United Tastes Reception. A wonderful way to kick off our April 22-24 Da Nang AmCham-U.S. Mission Leadership Weekend! United Tastes. Nebraska beef, California wine and cheese, Alaskan seafood, USA potatoes, pulses, pork, blueberries, and apples. And sustainable, purified water bottled in recyclable glass bottles right here in Da Nang. What is not to like? AmCham Da Nang Chairman Chris Vanloon was honored to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Embassy Agricultural Minister Counselor Robert Hanson and Ag Attaché Ben Petlock and teams to host United Tastes April 22 in Da Nang, together with U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper, DCM Melissa Bishop, Consul General Marie Damour and special guest Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chair Ho Ky Minh. The event featured top quality U.S. food and beverages now available here in Vietnam. Members of the U.S. Mission Vietnam team joined AmCham members from across the country at the Furama Resort Danang for a"United Tastes" reception featuring U.S. food and wine. Link to more photos!

Son Tra Peninsula Red-Shanked Douc Langur Preserve Tour: 5:30am departure deterred many. These dedicated visitors to the Son Tra Peninsula were able to see the red-shanked langur in its native environment and learn more about efforts to preserve this endangered species in Vietnam, thanks to expert guides from AmCham member Green Viet.

Saturday Strategy Session. More than 100 AmCham and U.S. Mission representatives joined our April 23rd Da Nang AmCham-U.S. Mission Leadership Weekend Strategy Session-our largest ever! We focused on how to take the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership to a more strategic level, particularly with respect to the economic partnership. And we had lots of brainpower in the room! A high-powered group of experts was convened with an AmCham team led by Da Nang Chair Chris Vanloon, HCMC Chair Winnie Wong, and Board members and business leaders from throughout the country, together with a U.S. Mission team led by Ambassador Marc Knapper, DCM Melissa Bishop, and Consul General Marie Damour, with their economic and commercial leaders.

We divided into four breakout groups to focus on joint strategic priorities: Promoting Healthcare and Wellness; Enabling High-value Manufacturing and Resilient, Sustainable Supply Chains; Unlocking the Potential of the Digital Economy, Innovative, Tech Startups, and Financial Services; and Developing Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Globally-competitive Workforces. The breakout groups identified key opportunities, challenges, and joint actions to advance our strategic shared interests. Ambassador Knapper and all present agreed - this is the beginning of a dialogue - and stronger partnership between AmCham and the U.S. Mission to advance these shared interests!

Governance Task Force Board Representatives Greg Testerman (HCMC) and Luke Treloar (Da Nang) also briefed on initial recommendations to strengthen AmCham’s unity and internal coordination, corporate governance, and effectiveness to better represent our member interests. This initiative was undertaken in response to your feedback in our December Member Survey where 94% of members in HCMC and Da Nang and 94% of our joint members with AmCham Hanoi sought a unified AmCham, which carries out advocacy with a single voice, as well as access to meetings, events and dialogues, particularly those led by senior Vietnamese or U.S. Government officials. https://www.amchamvietnam.com/amcham-vietnam-december-2021-member-survey-results/ This was just an initial briefing; the Task Force looks forward to sharing its recommendations more with members throughout the country to ensure it is reflecting the key interests and concerns of you, our collective members.

Gala Dinner. The Saturday evening gala dinner was a highlight of the Da Nang AmCham-U.S. Mission Leadership Weekend 2022 at the Furama Resort. Even if no one really understood what the dress code was for a “smart casual” gala dinner on a beach... More photos at the link

Finally - special thanks to our AmCham team, especially Office Manager Cindy Tran and Events and Committees Manager Lily Nguyen, for organizing all the activities during our Weekend event!!

Upcoming Committee Meetings. We were delighted to welcome members to join our Tourism & Hospitality Committee Meeting on Tuesday, April 16 at 9AM with guest speaker Nguyen Duc Tri, Dean of School of Tourism, Business College, UEH University. We also look forward to welcoming members to our Logistics & Supply Chain Committee Meeting on Wednesday, April 27 at 9AM, for discussion of the Committee’s 2022 Draft Strategic Plan, a regulatory update on draft decree managing customs procedures for imports/export through e-commerce transactions, by Trang Nguyen, Committee Co-Chair, Senior Director, Vietnam, Regulatory and Government Affairs, FedEx Express Asia Pacific, and Infrastructure fee implementation: Terminals’ practice and implications for shippers by Ky Nguyen, Committee Strategic Advisor, CEO/General Director, Cai Mep International Terminal. You are also invited to join the Healthcare Committee Meeting on the same day at 4:15PM, and the Food & Beverage Committee Meeting on Thursday, April 28 at 10AM.

Next week, we look forward to welcoming members to our Education & Training Committee Meeting on Wednesday, May 4 at 9AM, and to our Manufacturing Committee Meeting on Friday, May 6, at 9AM.

AmCham Membership Renewal. Renew now to retain your membership benefits! If you haven’t already, make sure you renew your membership now to continue your involvement in AmCham, with opportunities for professional networking, business intelligence, advocacy to improve the business environment, and promotion of your business. Please renew promptly and consider upgrading to become Premium Members! If you haven’t yet received your renewal notice, please contact Membership Manager Sam Hoang.

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.

AmCham will be closed for the upcoming May Day holidays Monday, May 2- Tuesday, May 3. Unless there is something earth-shattering, we plan to take a break from our e-newsletter next week. Stay informed by checking out our website, Facebook, and LinkedIn! We hope you enjoy the holidays!!

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 thanks to everyone who made the Da Nang AmCham-U.S. Mission Leadership Weekend such a huge success! It really was inspiring to see such large turnouts for all of the events. From the United Tastes event on Friday, special thanks to USDA and the Cooperators for organizing this, to our strategic planning sessions with Ambassador Marc Knapper, Deputy Chief of Mission Melissa Bishop, Consul General Marie Damour and their teams, the weekend was a great way to work together to promote U.S. business in Vietnam.

No doubt that this would not have been possible without the help of our great teams in HCMC and Da Nang as well as our sponsors and the team at the Furama Resort Danang! Look forward to meeting you all again next year for an even bigger and more fun event!

Advocacy

We look forward to sharing the views of AmCham members at a “Meeting Between the HCMC Leaders and Foreign Business Associations” on Thursday, April 29.

US-ASEAN Summit now scheduled for May 12-13 in Washington, DC. President Biden will host ASEAN leaders in Washington DC in a Special Summit to demonstrate U.S. enduring commitment to the ASEAN region and the common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient. Prime Minister Nguyen Pham Minh Chinh is expected to lead the Vietnamese delegation to attend the summit and have other meetings in the United States, likely New York and San Francisco, to strengthen the bilateral comprehensive partnership.

AmChams of the Asia Pacific Summit and July Doorknock. We encourage AmCham members who are interested to register for the AmChams of the Asia-Pacific (AAP) 2022 Business Summit in Hanoi and Hue May 19-21 (early-bird registration for event-only is $500 by May 12, and $600 thereafter) LINK and to consider joining the July 17-20 AAP Doorknock in Washington DC (registration fee TBD, likely $1000) LINK. Learn more about both events at a special AAP virtual session Friday, April 29 at 9AM ICT. Register with AmCham events team at events@amchamvietnam.com by Wednesday, April 27 at 3PM.

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 26: Tourism & Hospitality Committee Meeting

April 27: Logistics & Supply Chain Committee Meeting

April 27: Healthcare Committee Meeting

April 28: Food & Beverage Committee Meeting

May 4: Education & Training Committee Meeting

May 6: Manufacturing 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.