AmCham Vietnam Weekly eNewsletter - 22nd Week of 2022

Weekly eNewsletter

22nd Week of 2022 - May 31, 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 ,

Perspective. It’s good to get away sometimes to find perspective about what really is important in life. Enjoyed traveling with my adult daughter and her husband in Central Vietnam – in Hội An, Huế, and Phong Nha – Kẻ Bàng. The architecture, cultural heritage, and natural beauty were stunning, and the food was delicious – whether cao lầu, bánh bèo, or the surprisingly elegant meal our guide served us in the cave. The caves were amazing, and at least the ones we explored were free of spiders, leeches, snakes, and bats.

Emails of course, may have blissfully stopped momentarily while I was off-grid, but kept coming when I re-emerged. Please be patient as I dig out and catch up!

CG Damour off to Fiji! The big news (at least for those of us in HCMC) is that on May 25th, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate U.S. Consul General in HCMC Marie C. Damour as Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Fiji, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru, the Kingdom of Tonga, and Tuvalu. We will be sorry to see CG Damour depart in July, but congratulate her on this fantastic and well-deserved news! We look forward to a celebratory send-off likely in early in July – stay tuned for more details!

VBF Advocacy. Thank you to those of you who have contributed advocacy issues for the June 24^th Vietnam Business Forum Technical Session. We may still be able to submit a few if you missed the deadline. See our Advocacy Report below.

It was good to see many of you this morning at the AmChams of Asia Pacific (AAP) Virtual Doorknock Series: The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Trade, and ASEAN

U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Ashok Mirpuri, Founder & Executive Director of Asian Trade Centre and President of Asia Business Trade Association Dr. Deborah Elms, and Amb (ret) Deputy USTR and McLarty and Associates Senior Advisor Rufus Yerxa provided insights on the IPEF and the current climate for trade in Washington. Their bottom line is while the IPEF is not a trade agreement and contains no market access provisions, it gets the U.S. back at the table on trade-related issues in Asia. There is increased recognition now in Washington of the role that trade plays in keeping consumer costs down/offsetting inflation, as well as awareness of the importance of resilient supply chains and actions to combat climate change. Business in the region can play a helpful role by getting involved, including seeking practical actions that can facilitate trade, particularly for SMEs and on digital trade, as well as helping define concrete steps that can be taken to strengthen supply chains and combat climate change, including facilitating the use of quality re-manufactured equipment, and understanding the interests of their host countries. On the AAP Doorknock planned for July, it will be important to demonstrate the benefits of trade to communities back in the USA.

Upcoming Events and Committee meetings:

June 1 9-10:00am Education and Training Committee Meeting. LINK

June 2 6-8pm Networking event for Binh Duong members. LINK

June 3 9-10am Manufacturing Committee Meeting. LINK

June 6 4-5:30pm Capital Markets and Financial Services Committee Meeting. LINK

Recent Events:

May 25 Connect & Cocktails. Always good to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and meet new ones at AmCham’s monthly Connect & Cocktails. Last week, at Cocotte’s beautiful restaurant in the Sila Tower in D3, thanks to Cocotte owner Dong Khoi Nguyen and Chef Quang, we also enjoyed delicious complimentary French bistro appetizers. Many thanks to Board Member Mark Gillin for hosting the essential Lucky Draw!

May 26 Prevent and Manage Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Preventing and Managing Sexual Harassment is critical to maintaining diverse, inclusive, and productive workplaces. AmCham’s May 26th panel discussion and interactive workshop, Prevent and Manage Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Legal Requirements and Best Practices, provided insights and tips on how to create a safe and inclusive workplace, and how to ensure your company is legally compliant. Participants also explored in breakout groups how to approach challenging situations in case studies.

AmCham Chair in HCMC Winnie Wong provided welcoming remarks. Vice Chair and Baker McKenzie Partner Hang Nguyen provided an overview on the current legal framework, as well as some best practices for prevention and investigation of sexual harassment at the workplace. The topic was then taken further in depth with a panel discussion on how to promote a safe, inclusive workplace, how to recognize sexual harassment in your workplace, and how best to respond to allegations of sexual harassment. Hang Nguyen moderated the panel discussion with Intel HR Director Yen Pham, Dow Chemical Business Director Phuong Nguyen, and Respect Vietnam Founder & Strategic Advisor Ha Dang, and also facilitated the breakout groups.

A key takeaway is that we can prevent and manage sexual harassment by taking actions to build a culture of inclusion, empathy, and awareness.

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.

FLUENCE a New Premium Corporate Member: We are delighted to welcome FLUENCE as a Premium Member at the Bronze-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.

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

Greetings from Sunny Da Nang and I hope you are all well!

This week we were honored to be invited, along with members from Lovepop, to attend the year end and graduation ceremony at the OneSky Early Learning Center (ELC) in Da Nang run by our NGO Member Ms. Hien. It was great to see all the performances by the little ones. Congratulations to the 53 children who will be moving on to primary school in Thu Liem District this fall. It is so wonderful that the ELC is back in operations after Covid and the children really enjoyed the event!

For those of you that don’t know, OneSky is an American 501(c)(3) NGO that provides quality childcare and early learning at its Da Nang ELC for children whose parents work in the industrial zones of Da Nang City, as well as training for providers of home-based childcare. Its programs have benefitted hundreds of underprivileged children at the ELC and over 20,000 through its home-based childcare provider training. During the pandemic when the factories were closed or at reduced manufacturing capacity, OneSky, even though unable to open, still delivered food, clothes, supplies and study aids to all its ELC children. We as AmCham members were also happy to assist in some of these contributions.

Keep up the great work Ms. Hien and we look forward to seeing another smiling and larger graduating class next year!

Advocacy

HCMC. We are delighted this afternoon for a delegation from our HR Committee, led by Vice Chair and Board Liaison Hang Nguyen, to be meeting with HCMC DOLISA to discuss actions to be taken to facilitate mobility by streamlining procedures for visas, work permits, and TRCs. This meeting is being held in follow-up from our May 17^th Chair’s Circle Meeting with HCMC People’s Committee Chairman Phan Van Mai.

National/VBF. Thank you to all who contributed advocacy issues for the June 24^th Vietnam Business Forum Technical Session with MPI. We may still be able to submit a few if you missed the May 31 deadline. Please submit any additional input ASAP, ideally through Committee chairs, to advocacyaction@amchamvietnam.com, in both English and Vietnamese, using the form provided, to facilitate our consolidation and submission. LINK. Fred Burke, AmCham’s 2022 VBF Representative notes: “The VBF is probably the most effective advocacy channel Am Cham has in Vietnam, so please try to use it. No issue is too big or too small, but the issue should be cross-cutting and not merely of interest to a single member.’”

Fred’s update: Following on the success of the Annual Vietnam Business Forum's new format, deployed in February 2022, we are preparing to hold the upcoming VBF Mid-Term Forum in the form of a "Technical Session" on June 24th, 2022. Working Groups and Business Associations are invited to submit feedback on issues that impact their members in the form that the VBF has been sending out over the past week or two. For the Board of Governor's information, it may still be possible to get additional issues into the agenda, though it is best to give the relevant ministries more time to prepare more concrete responses and solutions.

Sponsorship opportunities are available, as well as a limited number of tickets for attendees. Please contact the Vietnam Business Forum Secretariat for details.

AmChams of the Asia Pacific July Doorknock. We encourage AmCham members who are interested to register for the AmChams of the Asia-Pacific (AAP) July 17-20 AAP Doorknock in Washington DC (registration fee $1000) LINK.

We also submitted advocacy last week to OOG from the F&B Committee on Nutritional Labeling. 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)

June 1: Education & Training Committee Meeting

June 3: Manufacturing Committee Meeting

June 6: Capital Markets and Financial Services Committee (CMFSC) Meeting

June 8: Legal & VBF Liaison Committee Meeting

June 9: Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) 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.