Weekly eNewsletter
26th Week of 2021 - July 4, 2021
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AmCham Vietnam’s Vision:
The most influential, strategic, and dynamic business association in Vietnam, that drives innovation and sustainable growth, and helps our members succeed. AmCham is a diverse and inclusive business association. We welcome American, Vietnamese, and international companies that share our interest in enabling a fair, transparent, predictable, and efficient regulatory environment that values innovation. A community you want to join!
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Happy Independence Day! Wherever you are, I hope those of you who are American will find a way to celebrate U.S. Independence Day on July 4th. We regret the current COVID-19 outbreak postponed our annual celebration, but promise we will find some way to celebrate. Our current target date is Saturday, August 28th for a combined Independence Day Celebration and Back-to-School Community Picnic - stay tuned!
I have been enjoying the blue skies and cooler weather of San Francisco, if not the days when the fog never burns off and it is gloomy all day. My teenager now has her driver’s permit. But she isn’t the only nervous driver - I am remembering to drive again after two years!
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Partnering with Vietnamese Government
Partnering with the Vietnamese government to support its efforts on COVID-19 and vaccines plus is AmCham’s current top priority. We are glad to see more vaccines available and distributed to priority groups, but concerned about the rising number of cases in Vietnam, and particularly HCMC and Binh Duong, including in many of our member’s factories. We appreciate the efforts to conduct mass testing and vaccination, but worry that the lack of social distancing at some venues could itself lead to further spread. Finally, a mixed blessing is that there seem to be more asymptomatic cases with the new variant. That means fewer patients end up in emergency rooms. However, it also makes it much harder to detect. Vietnam, like many other countries in the region, is finding it difficult to achieve the zero case levels it had maintained for months.
This week, we look forward to a Tuesday afternoon meeting between the leadership of Ho Chi Minh City with foreign missions, international organizations, and foreign business associations to discuss potential collaboration to support the People’s Committees response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One way in which we may assist is through fundraising to support critical medical equipment and supplies, as we did last year both in HCMC and Da Nang. We will work with local authorities to determine priority needs and then ensure we can find the most competitive pricing to ensure value both to provincial governments and our members.
We were honored to join a virtual meeting last week with DPM Pham Binh MInh. More details in our advocacy report below.
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Upcoming Programs and Events
Please join AmCham's July 6 virtual event "What's to Expect in Foreign Expert Travel (and to return) to Vietnam: a nitty-gritty practical guide". Travel to Vietnam has become infinitely more complicated, due to Decree 152, stricter enforcement of existing regulations, changing interpretations, and new quarantine procedures. Join this discussion with a panel of experts to learn how to plan for travel (and return) of foreign experts and/or family members to Vietnam. This session will cover everything from selecting an advisor or travel agent to DIY, booking flights, choosing a quarantine facility, maintaining your sanity in quarantine; and many other nitty gritty practical tips. Join this event if you are a compassionate, caring HR director or someone expecting to travel (or return) to Vietnam soon.
We also plan to hold a member-only briefing later this week to share results of the briefing, hear your concerns, and discuss how we can support you better during this challenging time. One need identified in our Manufacturing Committee is to share best practices managing positive cases and emergency planning to avoid shutdowns.
While a few committees have canceled July meetings for a bit of a summer break, we look forward to this week’s Education and Training Committee meeting on Wed, July 7 at 9AM.
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AmCham Celebrates Wellness and Self-care: With social distancing measures extended, it is more important than ever to practice wellness and self-care. AmCham kicked off a Wellness social media campaign to celebrate Wellness, kicking off on June 12th, Global Wellness Day, continuing through July 24th, International Self-Care Day. As part of this effort, on Facebook and Instagram, every day, we are featuring one of our members or friends, with a few words and photos about how they practice wellness. We would love to feature you! Send photos of your wellness efforts, with your company name and title, and a short description of your approach to wellness@amchamvietnam.com. Remember that wellness can take a variety of forms: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, financial, vocational, and social.
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On the occasion of WHO’s Self-Care Month (June 24th-July 24th) and International Self-Care Day July 24th, the Global Self–Care Federation (GSCF) is putting the spotlight on the benefits of self–care ahead with theme “#SelfCarePromise”. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how fragile our global health systems are. Adopting good self–care habits beyond the pandemic is one of the best ways we can continue to protect ourselves, our communities, and our healthcare professionals. A dedicated site https://selfcarepromise.org was launched on June 24th to highlight stories, activities, and the #SelfCarePromise pledge to ensure the well-being of individuals and communities around the world.
Recent Events and Developments
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Le & Tran’s Commercial Dispute Case Studies, featuring Founder and Senior Trial Lawyer Stephen Le, provided expert insights on various legal challenges, and how to manage in and out of court.
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Vietnam’s changing regulatory environment is creating new challenges for foreign workers. Last week’s “Work Permits and Mobility for Foreign Experts”, featured a panel of experts, including Baker & McKenzie Partner and Labor Expert Hang Nguyen, KPMG Partner for Mobility Services Andrea Godfrey, and First Solar Senior HR Manager Han Nguyen. They briefed on the latest guidance from MOLISA, how to plan for and meet these new requirements, and the potential for corporate and personal tax liabilities in home countries if a foreign expert ends up working during an extended period while back home.
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In honor of global Pride month, “Vietnam PRIDE in Our Community and Workplace” aimed to raise awareness on LGBT issues in Vietnam and share strategies for building inclusive and equitable workplaces. The panel, which included representatives from corporate to SMEs as well as the LGBT advocacy organization ICS, provided guidance on how we can embrace diversity and inclusion and provide safe and places to work. Thanks to co-organizers AusCham, ICS, and Vietnam Corporate Pride Network. Many thanks to our panel - Linh Ngo from ICS Center, Paul Huynh from KPMG, Linh Le from Luxperia, Minh Le from Baker McKenzie, and Moderator Van Ly from Raise Partners for your leadership and insights. Thank you to our other chamber co-hosts - Australian Chamber of Commerce Vietnam, British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam, CanCham Vietnam, Hong Kong Business Association Vietnam, NordCham Vietnam.
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Cai Mep International Terminal a new AmCham Premium Corporate Member. We are delighted to welcome Cai Mep International Terminal as a Premium Member at the Bronze-level and value its support. AmCham Premium membership offers the opportunity for qualified companies to highlight their status as business leaders and their strategic support for AmCham Vietnam’s mission and programs. Premium Membership offers a range of discounts, benefits, and exclusive access. Customized packages are available. To learn more, see LINK or contact Office Manager Cindy Tran at cindy.tran@amchamvietnam.com.
Support Local Businesses: My daughter and I continued to “sacrifice” and order delivery to support local restaurants – both our “tried and true” favorites and some new ones. While we are away, please do your part – please support the local businesses that contribute so much to our quality of life, but are incredibly hard hit by lockdown measures! Especially our AmCham Members and Discount partners!! LINK. And if you want to become an AmCham Discount Partner, please contact us at LINK. Order using the restaurants’ own app if they have; it helps them avoid paying high fees to delivery services.
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For the next two weeks, I will be trying to minimize my time working in order to spend time with my daughters m a college tour-road trip before my older daughter’s wedding on July 17th. I will be back in HCMC on July 22, and will returning to work remotely from quarantine. My email and text replies may be delayed and I regret I will not be able to join many of your mid-day and afternoon meetings. But our wonderful AmCham team, led by Office Manager Cindy Tran and Events & Committees Manager Lily Nguyen, will continue to keep things running to support you, even though they like many of you, are currently mostly working from home, and our events will be entirely virtual.
To support the HCMC People’s Committee’s COVID-19 control measures. AmCham Vietnam is holding our meetings and events at a Level IV rating this week – all virtual. Please see https://bit.ly/ACEventRating for more information about AmCham’s COVID-19 event ratings. All members of the AmCham team are following a Work from Home (wfh) policy. Our team is still working hard to serve you. We regret our home wifi is not as strong as at the New World Hotel.
We welcome your feedback at team@amchamvietnam.com to let us know how we can serve you better. We wish you a safe and healthy week ahead! Mary
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Greetings from Da Nang and I hope you are all staying safe from COVID-19 and cool during this very hot week! While we are still in lockdown and remain vigilant of the pandemic situation, it is nice to report that there has clearly been an increase of individuals exercising both in the early morning and evening each day throughout the city. I can see that that is one of a few good things coming out of the current lockdown. The first is the increase in physical activity and the second is how incredibly blue and clean the ocean has become. Really look forward to being able to swim again on our fantastic beaches one day soon! As always, stay safe, stay healthy and stay positive! |
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COVID-19 Update from Healthcare Provider Subcommittee Chair
Dr. Mason Cobb and Andrew Meadows
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Shoe on the other foot: USA returns to normalcy as Vietnam suffers worst outbreak yet.
For more information, LINK (to COVID page).
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Last week, we joined a meeting with DPM Pham Binh Minh to discuss Vietnam’s COVID response and opportunities to strengthen the US-Vietnam economic partnership. We also sent a letter to HCMC authorities in advance of this week’s COVID-19 response meeting. Please see more details at LINK. If you have interest in these or any other advocacy matters that require AmCham support, please contact relevant Committee leaders and/or advocacyaction@amchamvietnam.com.
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Committee Meetings & Activities (For AmCham Members Only) |
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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.
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Virtual participation only. |
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Virtual participation only. |
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Virtual participation only. |
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Venue: Hotel Des Arts Saigon, 76-78 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St., Dist. 3 |
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The American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam
New World Hotel Suite 323
76 Le Lai Street, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Phone: +84 28 3824 3562
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