Weekly eNewsletter
9th Week of 2021 - March 7, 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, inclusive, business association and welcomes American, Vietnamese, and international companies that share our interest in enabling a fair, transparent, and predictable regulatory environment that values innovation. A community you want to join.
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Updates from Mary Tarnowka, Executive Director |
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Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, Happy International Women’s Day to all of our women members - and women in Vietnam and around the world!
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My housekeeper gave me two new orchid plants, as she said, so we could BOTH enjoy them… As we you celebrate International Women’s Day with your spouse, partner, or members of your team, remember flowers, chocolates, cakes, nice dinners, or spa days are all appreciated, but what is more important is how the women in your life are valued and supported every day.
As a strong advocate of women’s empowerment, AmCham Vietnam has equality goals integrated into our 2021 Core Values and Vision. “We promote Solidarity by being inclusive and diverse in our membership and representing the interests of our members with a unified voice.”
We are excited about the impressive leadership of our Women in Leadership (WIL) Committee and its mission to “provide women and their supporters with the skills to enhance women participation in positions of leadership in AmCham, their workplaces, and the broader community in Vietnam.” https://www.amchamvietnam.com/women-in-leadership-committee/. Please join our 2021 kickoff Member-only WIL Committee meeting on March 23, where we will also discuss our 2021 Strategic Plan, as part of our efforts to offer a range of WIL programs and events to meet the diverse interests of our members. Female and male AmCham members are welcome. We want your feedback! Register now to attend in-person or virtually. https://www.amchamvietnam.com/events/amcham-women-in-leadership-committee-meeting-mar-2021/
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Starting on March 8 and throughout the month, we will spotlight AmCham women leaders and their supporters, on the official AmCham website, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Look to be inspired! Join us for a series of virtual conversations on Women Empowerment and Leadership with AmCham WIL Committee and Lightpath Consulting Co-founder Irene Ohler and Sustainable Vietnam- March 10 at noon with KOTO Director of Partnerships and Hopebox Founder and CEO Huong Dang.
We know transfer pricing is one of the most challenging tax issues for our members. All members and friends are invited to join RSM’s Thursday, March 11 Transfer Pricing Event for Companies Moving to Vietnam, from 9-10:30am at the New World Hotel, also appropriate for companies already established in Vietnam.
Please join the first event of our series on Investing in Manufacturing Supply Chains in Vietnam: Enabling Ethical Supply Chain Practices in Vietnam with special guest speaker U.S. Consul General Marie Damour (in-person at the InterContinental Saigon and virtually), also on Thursday, March 11, from 4:30-7:30pm.
We also welcome any who are interested to join the March 9-11 AmChams of the Asia Pacific (AAP) Business Summit. Participation is in-person in Singapore, and virtually throughout the region.
This week, we welcome our members to join hybrid meetings at AmCham’s office or virtually of our Energy Committee Tuesday, March 9 from 3-4:30PM, and the Legal & VBF Liaison Committee from 5-6:15PM. No Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee will take place this week. Members are encouraged to join the Ethical Supply Chain event instead.
HCMC and Da Nang Board Members and Committee Chairs or Co-chairs, please join us at our virtual Joint Board-Committee Leadership meeting on Wednesday, March 10 from 4:30-5:30PM to share best practices.
And please, mark your calendars now for our AmCham National Weekend March 26-28 with U.S. Mission Vietnam leadership in Da Nang! It should be a wonderful time to enjoy the beautiful spring weather and beaches in Da Nang, and get to enjoy some informal time both with members of the U.S. Mission team and colleagues and families in our greater AmCham community, including from Da Nang and Hanoi. All AmCham members and partners/spouses are welcome to the networking cocktail Friday evening and the Saturday gala dinner (both with family-friendly options nearby), as well as optional morning social events (details being finalized), to include golf and non-golf options. More details to come soon!!
Be well and stay safe. We welcome your feedback at team@amchamvietnam.com to let us know how we can serve you better. Mary
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Message from Chris Vanloon, Chairman of AmCham Vietnam-Da Nang Chapter:
Greetings from Sunny Da Nang. Spring has come and it’s the most beautiful time to travel here! Thanks to IPP Travel Retail CEO Phillip Nguyen who organized a fantastic meeting and networking event at Escobeach restaurant on My Khe beach. We fully support his ideas about making Da Nang the center of international tourism for Vietnam after the hopefully soon re-opening of the country. It’s always great to hear someone so passionate about the opportunities and potential of our city as well as someone who has the actual ability to form and make change on a countrywide scale. All of the SME attendees were truly grateful for his perspective and offer to help collaborate on enabling a safe reopening of Da Nang. We look forward to a continued partnership with IPP Travel Retail and Phillip in the future.
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Our Tax and Customs Committee is coordinating AmCham comments on the Draft Circular of the Law on Tax Administration. Comments are due to VBF on March 10, and to MOF GDT by March 15 so please send any input ASAP to taxleaders@amchamvietnam.com to allow time for inclusion and Advocacy Panel review.
We will also be filing comments on MOIT’s Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8) prior to the March 17 deadline, in coordination with AmCham Hanoi. If you are interested in contributing to this process, please join our Energy Committee Meeting and/or the Legal &VBF Committee Meetings on March 9 or contact our Energy Committee at Energyleaders@amchamvietnam.com
Our joint (with AmCham Hanoi) VBF and Legal Committee is taking the lead on drafting comments on the MPS Draft Decree on Personal Data Protection, due to the VBF by March 19. This will also be a topic of discussion at the VBF& Legal Committee Tuesday. Please join and/or send any comments to legal@amchamvietnam.com.
Our Advocacy Panel is finalizing its review of F&B Committee comments on Circular 25 relating to specialized inspections of processed dairy products.
If you have an issue you believe requires AmCham advocacy, please raise it to the attention of the relevant Committee leaders and/or to Advocacyaction@amchamvietnam.com
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Committee Meetings & Activities (For AmCham Members Only) |
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March 11, 9:00 - 10:30am (hybrid-in person and virtual)
Venue: New World Hotel Saigon, 76 Le Lai St., Dist. 1
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March 11, 4:30 - 7:30pm (hybrid-in person and virtual)
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March 19, 6:00 - 8:30pm
Venue: Origin, 2nd Fl, Indochina Riverside Tower, 74 Bach Dang, Hai Chau District, Da Nang
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SAVE THE DATE - March 24, 6:00 - 8:30pm. AmCham Vietnam – Connect & Cocktails
More details are coming soon
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SAVE THE DATE - MARCH 26-28 AMCHAM VIETNAM NATIONAL WEEKEND IN DA NANG
More details are coming soon.
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March 30, 4:30 - 5:30pm (hybrid-in person and virtual)
Venue: New World Hotel Saigon, 76 Le Lai St., Dist. 1
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COVID-19 Update from Healthcare Provider Subcommittee Chair Dr. Mason Cobb and Andrew Meadows
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The pandemic drags on, so now we "keep on keepin' on". The first vaccinations in Vietnam will begin Monday, which is the door opening a bit. As the world gets more vaccinated, "Vaccine Passports" may facilitate travel, with local media predicting perhaps as early as July for Vietnam receiving vaccinated tourists.
To date, there are about 90M doses in six batches planned by end of Q1 2022. However, there are active negotiations to acquire more, including Moderna and Sputnik 5, which have already been approved. The goal is 150M doses by the end of 2021. Priorities for who gets the vaccine are in place but may be revised to be more consistent with WHO recommendations. At this time, it will be mainly front-line healthcare and pandemic tracer workers, and those in outbreak areas. The place of expats in the lists has not been specified. We expect the Ministry of Health to issue more guidance soon.
All four internationally approved vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson) are effective. It is likely that there will be several available. Any of them (even with only 1 of the 2 doses) is tremendously effective at stopping life-threatening cases. Therefore, vaccine shopping is probably not helpful, since it could result in delays and possibly wasted doses.
Other developments this week:
· Vaccines have been proven effective at reducing viral load and transmissibility
· The 2-dose vaccines confer significant immunity after just one dose
· Even though there are questions regarding the variants, it is likely that the vaccines will still confer protection against life-threatening disease
· Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, and probably most major vaccine makers, can "plug and play" updated vaccines within a few weeks or months to meet new variants
· CDC-USA warns that full precautions must be taken for 3 or 4 months, even with a vaccine
· 10% or more of both adults and children may become "long haulers", with symptoms persisting for many months
· We are at the end of 21 days without a new community case in HCMC. It is likely that some restrictions may be lifted soon. This may result in reopening of gyms, bars, etc., but is not a cause to stop our pandemic precautions.
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If you want to become an AmCham member, register here. If you have already renewed for 2021, you should have received your membership card already. If you haven’t, please let us know. If you haven’t yet renewed or settled your payment, please do so soonest so you can keep enjoying the benefits of AmCham membership!
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AmCham’s Member Discount Program supports local businesses that contribute to our quality of life, and also offer benefits to you, our members. For more information on participating businesses, or if you want to become an AmCham Member Discount Partner, click here.
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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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