AmCham Vietnam Weekly eNewsletter - 39th, 40th & 41st Weeks of 2022

Weekly eNewsletter

39th, 40th & 41st Week of 2022 - October 20th, 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 ,

It wasn’t the dog’s fault. We/I will do a better job of keeping our weekly a weekly! No, the dog didn’t eat my homework (a familiar excuse among schoolchildren in the U.S.), but my laptop did absolutely crash with the so-called purple screen of death and not everything has moved over to the new laptop smoothly… Meanwhile, we have been busy with events and advocacy to serve you. We have been delighted to see so many AmCham members and friends at our Oct 6^th Welcome for U.S. Consul General Susan Burns, at our Oct 14-16^th AmCham National Issues Weekend in Hoi An, and at many of our Committee meetings and events, Tuesday with 58 attendees at our Digital Economy and Technology Committee meeting on E-signatures with the Director of MOIT Center for Information and Digital Technology Center! We look forward to seeing many of you soon at our upcoming events and committee meetings, including our October 26 Connect & Cocktails at Cocotte Sila! And don’t miss the virtual multi-chamber ASEAN Business Outlook Survey event on the morning of October 26^th, including Vriens’ Director Sam Pursch discussing why Vietnam remains the top destination for new Asia-Pacific investment by AmCham member companies in the region. LINK

We didn’t go for the beach weather! About 40 AmCham members from across the country braved wind and very heavy rains to join Ambassador Marc Knapper, Consul General Susan Burns, Economic Counselor Lynne Gadkowski, and Principal Commercial Officer Stephen Jacques for AmCham’s National Issues Weekend October 14-16 in Hoi An, organized by AmCham Hanoi and AmCham Da Nang. Our Saturday afternoon discussion session provided an opportunity to learn from Ambassador Knapper and the U.S. Mission team about developments towards a more strategic Comprehensive Partnership and prospects for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). We also discussed strategic priority interests of our members with U.S. Mission staff, from Digital Economy regulations and Vietnam’s Energy Transition, to Healthcare and Wellness, Manufacturing and Supply Chains, Mobility, Workforce Development, the overall Regulatory Environment, Business Climate for Financial Services, the growing importance of ESG, and an update on survey results from our Governance Task Force (more below). As always, at least as important as the discussion session was the opportunity for members from throughout the country to get to know each other better and discover their shared interests. Some adventurous members visited Hoi An by boat. We were all impressed by the resiliency of the people in the Central region as they pitched in to help their neighbors and cleaned up after the seasonal flooding.

Member-only Action Request

DEADLINE EXTENDED AT YOUR REQUEST - AmCham Vietnam ESG Impact Awards Competition Announcement: To honor and recognize AmCham Vietnam members’ excellence in Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives in 2022, AmCham Vietnam would like to announce our 2022 AmCham Vietnam ESG Impact Awards Program. All interested AmCham member companies and organizations are encouraged to apply. LINK to ESG Impact Awards Package with application forms and additional details. Don’t miss this chance to highlight your good company or organization’s good work! Deadline for applications now extended to Friday, October 28^th!!

Sponsorship opportunities available now for AmCham Women in Engineering Scholarship (ACWES) 2022. Invest in the future of Vietnam and your company’s potential future talent pool through sponsoring talented female university students studying in STEM! AmCham Vietnam’s Women in Engineering Scholarship program was established in 2011 to encourage and support female students to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and pursue careers in STEM. Now with almost 400 alumni, ACWES 2022 will offer 70 scholarships of VND 15,000,000 each for students from 12 university partners in HCMC, Da Nang, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong. AmCham issued our call for applications due on October 3^rd, with the Award Ceremony scheduled on November 11^th. Join sponsors including Techtronic Industries Vietnam Manufacturing Company Limited (TTI Group), Axcela Vietnam, EPAM Systems (Vietnam) Company Limited (EPAM), and Procter & Gamble Indochina Company Limited (P&G) to demonstrate your company’s support for Women in STEM. LINK Please contact our Scholarship Management team for more information about sponsorship at scholarship@amchamvietnam.com.

Results of Unity Survey - we heard you! AmCham Vietnam’s September Governance Task Force Survey found that once again, an overwhelming majority of our members support a more unified AmCham in Vietnam. Specifically, respondents support:

Centralization under a single, democratically-elected National Board of Governors (95% of total, 89% of dual)
Centralization of Senior Management and Staff, reporting to the National Board (91% of total, 89% of dual)
Unified national-level advocacy (94% of total, 89% of dual)
Centralization of finances (92% of total, 83% of dual)
Unified Website (97% of total, 89% of dual)
National-level Committees and Working Groups (89% of total, 89% of dual)
Access by members of all chapters to events, committees, and advocacy activities of any AmCham Vietnam chapter throughout the country (95% of total, 89% of dual)

We heard your views and our Task Force will do its best to reflect them in our new draft Charter. Many thanks to all who responded! LINK

AmCham Vietnam was honored and delighted to host U.S. Consul General in HCMC Susan Burns for a Welcome Dinner on her first official day as Consul General on October 6th. Thanks to all our sponsors, members and friends for such a warm welcome!

AmCham Vietnam’s Chair’s Circle was honored to welcome new U.S. Consul General to HCMC Susan Burns on October 6th with a VIP reception and discussion of strategic priority trade and investment issues. AmCham Vietnam is optimistic about the future and invested in the future in Vietnam. We look forward to continued partnership to strengthen the U.S. -Vietnam Economic Partnership. Thanks to Về Để Đi gin for sponsoring the signature cocktail!

Upcoming Events.

We look forward to seeing many of you at upcoming events on Wed, Oct 26: at 9AM virtual event 2022 ASEAN Business Outlook Survey – ASEAN: The Future of the 21st Century Economy; at 1:30pm The Know 2: Design Learning & Development (L&D) Policy Priorities on One Pager That Work s, and at 6pm Connect & Cocktails at the Cocotte in Sila Urban Living.

Upcoming Committee Meetings. AmCham members are welcome to join, in-person or virtually:

October 21, 10:30AM: Food & Beverage Committee Meeting

October 25, 9:00AM: Tourism and Hospitality Committee Meeting

October 25, 4:30PM: Women in Leadership Committee Meeting

October 26, 10:30AM: Logistics & Supply Chain Committee Meeting

CMB Regional Centers New Premium Corporate Member: We are delighted to welcome CMB Regional Centers as a Premium Member at the Bronze-level and value its support. 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! Mary Tarnowka

Greetings from Da Nang and I hope you are all well! We hope that you all were safe from the heavy rain that fell across our city last week. That was the heaviest rainfall since 1999! However, even through the rain, we were able to hold an historical event. AmCham Da Nang signed an MOU with the Da Nang Young Business Association to collaborate on local Advocacy, Charitable Events and Networking. We were honored to have the MOU signing ceremony witnessed by U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper, who also joined a Q&A session about how the US Mission could help support the Danang YBA. We look forward to strengthening this collaboration!

Additionally, I represented AmCham Da Nang at the October 16th MIC Roundtable on Digital Transformation and Smart City between the US ICT Industry and Da Nang City. It was a very informative event with great speakers such as Boeing, Microsoft, Meta, USTDA and many more. We all agreed that we should hold this type of event again soon and increase the length of the meeting as well as have more participants from a wider field as this important topic will affect our whole city.

I also had the pleasure of meeting with Da Nang People’s Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh and other members of government, together with the AmCham Members who attended the prior event and the USTDA. We discussed How to strengthen cooperation and investment opportunities in spheres of digital transformation, digital economy and smart city building in Da Nang, as well as strengthen cooperation between the USA and Da Nang, and Vietnam as a whole. We look forward to future collaborations with the Da Nang government as well!

Advocacy

AmCham continues to advocate on behalf of our members’ interests and provide opportunities for you to advocate directly. Thanks to all who contributed to a position paper on Rooftop Solar being finalized now by our colleagues in AmCham Hanoi. We also submitted a position paper on EPR Fund Management on October 14 to MONRE. LINK Members from throughout the country joined virtual and in-person meetings with MIC and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency on October 16, and a panel discussion featuring Meta, UL, and other U.S. tech companies to discuss ways to promote Digital Transformation and Smart City practices in Da Nang. Almost 60 members joined our Digital Economy and Technology Committee meeting on October 17 to discuss the current regulatory environment and procedures for E-Signatures with MOIT. Today, about 50 AmCham member companies, including Intel, AIM, and Wanek/Ashley, joined a discussion in HCMC with the Vietnam General Department on Customs and USAID to discuss new decrees and ways generally to promote trade facilitation in Vietnam.

VBF Update/INVITE to Cyber Conference. The Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) has shared an invitation to VBF chamber members to join a November 25^th conference on “Sharing and acquiring international experience on penalties for administrative violations in cybersecurity.” The event will take place with simultaneous translation; participation is limited to two individuals/company on a first-come, first-served basis. Please register now if you are interested. LINK

Meanwhile, 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 and advocacyaction@amchamvietnam.com

Committee Meetings & Activities (For AmCham Members only)

October 21, 10:30AM: Food & Beverage Committee Meeting

October 25, 9:00AM: Tourism and Hospitality Committee Meeting

October 25, 4:30PM: Women in Leadership Committee Meeting

October 26, 10:30AM: Logistics & Supply Chain 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.