AmCham Vietnam Weekly Update - 16th Week of 2020
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Colleagues, I know you are all dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on your businesses and families. I want to inform you of actions AmCham Vietnam-HCMC is taking in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and request your assistance to help us serve you and our other AmCham members better. A summary of recent actions is below:
1. Policy Recommendations
.
AmCham Vietnam-HCMC continues to make an impact. Thanks to your feedback and recommendations, and expert advisers in our COVID19 Policy Task Force (particularly Baker & McKenzie's Fred Burke, Nguyen Thuy Hang, Nguyen Thanh Vinh, and Chung Yee), we are providing timely, constructive recommendations to the Vietnamese government on policies to support the control of the COVID-19 outbreak, while minimizing the negative economic impact on the economy and people of Vietnam, and our members.
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On April 15, we
joined VCCI President Dr. Loc and SBV Deputy Governor Tu, and more than 150 domestic and foreign businesses association representatives in a virtual meeting on the Vietnamese government’s COVID-19 response. I shared member concerns and recommendations from AmCham’s COVID-19 taskforce to mitigate risks and neutralize any potential outbreak, while restarting and reopening the economy.
We know this situation will continue to evolve. Please share your concerns and policy recommendations, ideally sector or industry-based, to our task force (
COVID19policyrecs@amchamvietnam.com
).
2. Contributions of Goods and Financial Contributions by AmCham and our Member Companies to Support the Vietnamese Government's Response.
AmCham Vietnam-HCMC commends the effectiveness of actions taken by Vietnamese Government leaders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is proud of the contributions toward this response made by our member companies.
We know many of our members are looking for additional ways to contribute. Our Healthcare Committee leaders are working with local authorities to identify where we can contribute most meaningfully to support the most urgent needs and will share more details next week. Meanwhile, we are happy to highlight contributions from our member companies on our social media and with the U.S. Mission. Please email to
Cindy Tran
.
3. Identifying companies that want to manufacture Personal Protective Equipment for export to the United States
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The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has asked AmCham for assistance in identifying companies that may want to manufacture PPE for export to the United States. USAID is coordinating this initiative through the LinkSME program. If your company has interest/capability in manufacturing and exporting PPE, please contact Frank Weiand at
fweiand@linksme.org
for more information.
4. Supporting Local Business.
We know many businesses in Ho Chi Minh City and throughout Vietnam are struggling, due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak. And we know the impact of the outbreak has been particularly hard on small, local businesses. We at AmCham want to support local businesses which contribute so much to our quality of life in Vietnam by inviting them to join our 2020 AmCham Discount Partnership Program. Please consider joining for your company or refer a favorite local business by sending their email address or a copy of their business card to Membership Manager
Sam Hoang
. Make sure you support our Discount Partners, many of which now offer online shopping or delivery services. Click
HERE
for our Discount Partners information.
5. Supporting Vietnam's Front-Line Workers.
To continuously support the Vietnamese Government in the COVID-19 fight, AmCham Vietnam-HCMC would like to call for your contribution of less perishable food items to some of the front-line workers in Vietnam's hospitals and public quarantine areas. We are working with the Vietnam Fatherland Front of HCMC for this campaign. The Fatherland Front will arrange for its representative to pick up products at your factory/warehouse at a mutually convenient time. AmCham will be pleased to highlight these donations on our social media. Contact Office Manager
Cindy Tran
, who can ensure contributions are still welcomed and coordinate delivery.
We hope this information is useful to you - your AmCham team is still hard at work, virtually working to support you!! Stay safe and be well! Regards, Mary
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Opportunity to Submit Advocacy Issues to VBF Investment and Trade Working Group
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As members of the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF), we have an opportunity to make policy recommendations to the Vietnamese Government through the VBF's Working Groups. Please see the opportunity
HERE
conveyed by AmCham's 2020 Representative to the VBF Members Consortium Fred Burke and Co-Chairman of the VBF Investment and Trade Working Group Chung Yee to submit recommendations to the Investment and Trade Working Group by Friday, April 24. Instructions and template HERE. To ensure coordination with AmCham's own policy advocacy, please also cc our COVID19 Policy Taskforce (
COVID19policyrecs@amchamvietnam.com
).
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AmCham is Open for Business - Virtually
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Someday, we will reopen the AmCham office for business and we already have new artwork and signage outside to welcome you.
But for now, our AmCham team is hard at work, as are many of you, working from home. In the interest of the health and well-being of our AmCham team and our members, and to contribute to the overall social distancing and management of the COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam, all members of the AmCham team are following a Work From Home (wfh) policy. We will continue to hold all our regularly scheduled meetings as planned during this time, but with virtual participation only. at least through April 22. We hope to reopen the AmCham office for business soon.
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Stay Informed- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak
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Now classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 situation is changing rapidly throughout the world, including in Vietnam.
Vietnam currently has 268 reported cases, with 73,389 individuals now in quarantine, 0 deaths.
Recommended precautions for most healthy individuals are careful hand washing, avoiding touching your face, disinfecting frequently-touched hard surfaces, and practicing social distancing, including avoiding large gatherings.
For the most accurate, up-to-date information, check:
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If you are a U.S. citizen, register for the STEP program at
travel.state.gov
to receive updates on health and security information from the U.S. Consulate.
Some additional tips below from Dr. Mason Cobb, Vice-Chair of AmCham Healthcare Committee’s Medical Providers Subcommittee:
As we all know, the social isolation with near-lock-down will officially continue at least another week. The strict distancing has been very effective, with Vietnam’s 96,000,000 people showing only 268 cases at this writing and no new ones for about two days.
In Focus Market Research found that 89% of people in Vietnam support this stringent social distancing, although some 64% have lost jobs or had their salaries cut.
The rest of the world continues to have a raging pandemic with the United States especially hard hit. Although cases may have peaked, deaths continue to rise. Many other countries have not peaked, as the pandemic is a rolling pestilence. To the Vietnamese authorities, this means that Vietnam must keep strict precautions to guard against a second wave. There are four areas about which we are gathering more information and hopefully making progress:
1.
Search for a cure.
Over 200 clinical trials are underway. The most promising are on two related fronts. First, antivirals, such as Remdesivir and EIDD-80, attack the virus itself. One of the ways the virus kills, however, is by instigating suicide. The body can over-react to the virus, with a hyper-inflammatory response that itself destroys the lungs and other organs. This is called “cytokine storm” (cytokines are proteins released that promote inflammation as a response to infection). A robust 44 year-old ER physician on death’s door in the United States benefited from tocilizumab, a medicine that blocks cytokine receptors, blunting the hyper-immune response.
2.
Vaccine.
There are several beginning clinical trials. In the old days, 10% of vaccines against smallpox resulted in death. So, there will need to be a relatively long trial period to be sure that the vaccine is safe as well as effective before administering it to millions.
3.
Antibody test.
There are several possibilities being developed. However, the behavior of SARS-CoV-2, the responsible virus, is not well-understood. It may mutate, and the level of antibody needed and the duration of antibody immunity are unknowns. It is known that some cases tested negative, then later tested positive: it is not clear if that was due to a faulty first test, or true reinfection in spite of (presumed) antibodies.
4.
More information about COVID-19
can lead to further questions and uncertainty. WHO notes that variability between nations as to incidence and death rates are related to the ability to test and identify cases. In other words, world-wide, we do not know the true incidence. We know that about 30% of cases are asymptomatic and another 50% have relatively mild symptoms and may not be recognized. Likewise, some pulmonary deaths may be due to COVID-19 but recorded as something else, such as “pneumonia”.
Stay safe and patient and follow social distancing or physical distancing recommendations to keep yourself and our community safe. The entire planet is working on cures and vaccines and our knowledge, although sometimes conflicting, is increasing by the day. This, too, shall pass.
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AmCham Vietnam Supports Local Business - AmCham 2020 Discount Partner Program
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We at AmCham want to support local businesses which contribute so much to our quality of life in Vietnam by inviting them to join our 2020 AmCham Discount Partnership Program. Please consider joining for your company or refer a favorite local business by sending their email address or a copy of their business card to Membership Manager Sam Hoang at
sam.hoang@amchamvietnam.com
Companies can choose what level discount or special offer they provide. We just ask that they follow "Most Favored Association" treatment and provide us at least the same percentage discount or special offer that they may already provide other local associations. In return, we will promote our AmCham Discount Partners businesses and encourage our members to become their regular customers as described below:
What is the 2020 AmCham Discount Partnership Program?
✓ A program in which partner businesses promote their business by offering a special discount to more than
1500 AmCham top-profile individuals
who are representatives of over
500 AmCham Company Members.
Why join?
✓ As part of our #AmChamVietnamHCMC #supportlocalbusiness campaign, we will feature select partner businesses on our Facebook page and website
✓ Your company will be promoted widely to all AmCham members, partners, and website subscribers.
✓ Discount offers are
free
to be listed in our AmCham Discount Partner Handbook on our website at
LINK
(our website has over 180,000 visitors/year and 500,000 views/year).
✓ Your special promotion programs can be published on AmCham's website
LINK
How to join?
✓ Fill in the
Participation Form
HERE
.
✓ Book an Advertisement on Discount ONLINE (
Optional
):
REGISTER HERE
We value and want to support our local businesses!
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6:00-7:00pm. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
Join our first ever Virtual AmCham Connect & Cocktails with Board Members and Committee Leaders on Wednesday, April 22 from 6:00-7:30PM.
The Virtual AmCham Connect & Cocktails provides you an opportunity to e-meet and network with our AmCham Vietnam-HCMC Board and Committee Leaders and other members who can let you know how best to get involved and get benefits for your company and personally through joining AmCham Committees and becoming a more active member of the AmCham community. We will also feature our essential C&C Lucky Draw, courtesy of some of AmCham’s wonderful Member Discount Partners.
To accompany our first virtual C&C, we have arranged a special value delivery menu with food and cocktails from long-term AmCham Discount Partner Eddie’s Diner, thanks to Thao Dien Main Street Shopkeeper Extraordinaire Brad Segal. Details to follow.
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9:00-10:30am. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
Please join us for a virtual panel discussion event hosted by AmCham’s Women in Leadership Committee with inspiring women leaders, including: Author, Executive Coach, and Storyteller Irene Ohler as moderator, with panelists Dam Bich Thuy, President of Fulbright University Vietnam; Shark Tank Judge, Entrepreneur, and Investor, Linh Thai; and Tina Tran Neville, CEO and Co-founder of e-learning platform Lana Learns. This event commemorates both UN International Women’s Day and its theme of multigenerational leadership, and the one-year anniversary of AmCham’s Women in Leadership Initiative. We look forward to welcoming you to the panel discussion and follow-on Q&A session.
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4:00-5:00pm. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
At this new member event, you will learn more from our Executive Director, Mary Tarnowka, about AmCham Vietnam benefits, our mission, programs to help new members achieve success, and how to get involved in and maximize your investment in AmCham membership. While this event is designed for new members,
we also welcome other members who want to find out how they can become more involved with the AmCham community.
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Escape to Quy Nhon and enjoy exclusive rates for AmCham members
from 16 April
until the end of June 2020. Stay at a villa from VND 9,299,000 net/villa/night or an ocean view room for only VND 3,495,000 net/room/night. Inclusions with airport transfers, 20% savings on beverages, laundry service and all meals to make your stay as seamless as possible.
Terms and conditions apply.
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CBRE Releases Market Update Report For Q1 2020
The recent COVID-19 outbreak has created many disruptions in Vietnam’s economy and its real estate market. The new launch supply of the condominium market in both Hanoi and HCMC had a significant drop in Q1 2020 as well as the number of sold units. Hotel bookings and occupancy rates in Vietnam are estimated to reduced by 40-60% y-o-y. Meanwhile, the amount of footfall in shopping malls started to decrease in February and was reduced by approximately 80% as of March 2020. The revenue of retail categories such as Education, F&B, Fashion & Accessories, and Entertainment has gone down by 50-80%.
For further info on our “Market Update Q1” and on the market's development trends until year-end, please click here to read full report:
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Enterprises in Vietnam are facing numerous difficulties that are directly attributable to Covid-19. Many enterprises have temporarily suspended their business for a specific term; others have not formally announced suspension of business but, in practice, have halted or reduced production and business activities and reached mutual agreements with their employees to cease or temporarily leave work with or without salary. However, what if an enterprise has no money to fund salary payments and no mutual agreement with the employee? What is the solution?
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In order to provide a broad and realistic overview of M&A market during and post Covid-19 pandemic, KPMG with support of RMIT is conducting a survey on the M&A industry in Vietnam in past 12 months and the expected trends in upcoming time.
The survey will be distributed from April 8 to April 30.
If you need any further assistance or have questions regarding the survey, please kindly contact us:
Ms. Nguyen Thi My Duy
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On April 21st 2020, Mazars Vietnam, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce Vietnam and CPA Australia will be hosting an online webinar on the topic "How Finance Executives are Navigating the Financial Impact of Covid-19 in Vietnam". This will be an online panel discussion addressing the current and ongoing challenges that businesses in Vietnam are facing as a result of Covid-19.
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Committee Meetings & Activities (For AmCham Members Only)
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9:00-10:00am. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
Monthly meeting to discuss 2020 priorities.
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9:00-10:30am. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
- Co-Chairs give market summary
- White Paper on e-documents and e-signatures
- Carrier give update on Covid – 19 current state and future impact
- AOB
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Let’s support local businesses - many now operating online or delivery/takeout only to promote social distancing. If you have any questions regarding our program, please contact Membership Manager Sam Hoang at
sam.hoang@amchamvietnam.com
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AmCham Premium Membership
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The AmCham Premium Membership 2020 is a leadership-level membership for companies contributing strategic support for AmCham's mission and programs. Our Premium Membership comes with a range of exclusive benefits. One all-inclusive Premium Membership's annual billing simplifies your businesses' sponsorship efforts.
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We love our AmCham members! Do you know all the benefits you get with your membership? Maybe you only remember the ones you've used recently, but there are many ways even our basic level members benefit at AmCham.
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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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