AmCham Vietnam Weekly eNewsletter - 9th Week of 2022

Weekly eNewsletter

9th Week of 2022 - February 28, 2022

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!

www.amchamvietnam.com

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Exercising/exorcising demons this weekend with my trainer, and enjoying the beautiful flowers in the neighborhood, as part of my efforts to beat stress and maintain my immune system. Hope you are taking care of your health – there’s lots of COVID, flu, and colds out there! And while for some, catching a mild case of COVID may seem like a 2nd booster, remember those out there who are too young to be unvaccinated or immune-compromised. Let’s try to reduce risk for all!

And please see a special return of our Weekly COVID Report from Dr. Mason Cobb and Andy Meadows with helpful tips!

March 1 AmChams of the Asia Pacific (AAP) – APEC and the Indo-Pacific Strategy. Join AAP Chair and McLarty Associates Senior Advisor Steve Okun, together with U.S Senior Official for APEC Matt Murray and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Mainland Southeast Asia Affairs Melissa Brown for a discussion of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, plans for a U.S-Southeast Asia Summit, and U.S. plans for hosting APEC 2023.

March 1 VBF - Key Outcomes & Outlook: The Inside Story. The Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) is an important policy advocacy tool for AmCham specifically and the FDI community generally. Don’t miss this event tomorrow either in-person at the New World Saigon or virtually. You can hear the inside story and key outcomes from the February 18 Technical Sessions and February 21 High-level VBF with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, as well as the outlook for Vietnam and the VBF for 2022 from the outgoing and incoming VBF Co-Chairs and industry sector working group experts. If you join in person, you can also enjoy a follow-on networking reception. The event is co-organized by AmCham and EuroCham, and co-hosted with Consortium Member Chambers BritCham, JCCI, KoCham, and other VBF associate members.

March 3 Welcome Dinner for U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper, 6:30PM at InterContinental Saigon. AmCham is delighted to welcome Ambassador Knapper to HCMC. This dinner will offer an opportunity to hear from Ambassador Knapper about the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership and his priorities, particularly ways to strengthen the trade and investment relationship. The Ambassador looks forward to meeting representatives from the many AmCham businesses located in and around HCMC, and hearing about opportunities and challenges you face. To minimize risks for all, if you plan to join the event, we ask that you do a self-test that day and stay home if you aren’t feeling well.

March 8 Champions of Diversity and Inclusion: Panel Pledge. In commemoration of International Women’s Day, join us for our first meet-up of an inter-chamber network of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) champions and allies at the Reverie Saigon from 4:00--7:30PM. This event is coordinated with and co-hosted by an informal coalition of chambers dedicated to advancing DEI, including AmCham, AusCham, BritCham, CanCham, and EuroCham. Join prominent Consuls General and influential business leaders for an inspiration and insightful event and follow-on networking session!

March 19 AmCham Spring Ball - THE SECRET GARDEN at the Park Hyatt Saigon. Save the Date – limited seats available, with first priority to our corporate sponsors and members of our Board of Governors. We are making up for lost opportunities in 2021 with plans for two balls in 2022! This will be an elegant, fun, exclusive event, celebrating spring and new beginnings. Both the Spring Ball and our December Governor’s Ball support our AmCham scholarship programs, together with direct corporate sponsorship.

Recent events

SPEC John Kerry’s visit. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change, former Secretary of State, and special friend of Vietnam John Kerry visited Hanoi and HCMC last week for a series of events with Vietnamese leaders, meetings with U.S. renewable energy companies and renewable energy finance companies, as well as a visit to First Solar’s thin film solar panel manufacturing plants in Cuchi. His official visit culminated with remarks and a fireside chat with students at Fulbright University Vietnam – joined online by many AmCham members and friends – and a celebration of FUV’s Founder’s Circle of donors of $40 million by eight Vietnamese philanthropists, supplementing $37 million of U.S. International Development Corporation financing and support from the U.S. Agency for International Development. FUV is the first independent, non-profit, liberal arts university in Vietnam, and will have its flagship new campus in Saigon High-tech Park. U.S. Mission staff will provide a readout of SPEC Kerry’s visit at next week’s Energy Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 8 at 3PM.

Women in Leadership Committee meeting hosted by Deloitte Vietnam Co-Founder and Chair Ha Thu Thanh. Many AmCham members joined WIL Committee Co-Chair Irene Oehler for a special Committee meeting on February 22 hosted by and featuring Madam Thanh, who shared her commitment to Diversity and Inclusion at Deloitte and personally. She also expressed the interest in further collaboration to advance DEI initiatives, including in partnership with AmCham Hanoi, the U.S, Mission, and Vietnamese women’s business groups and female business leaders. Despite the rain, we all left inspired and empowered! More photos at LINK

February Connect & Cocktails at CTY. Great to meet many old friends and new and potential members in one of Saigon’s newer innovative restaurants! More photos at LINK

USAID LinkSME Meeting with AmCham Manufacturing Members. Thanks to all who joined for this insightful discussion with USAID, LInkSME, and MPI about ways to promote post-pandemic recovery, and strengthen Vietnamese SMEs’ and their links to global supply chains. We look forward to more collaboration! More photos at LINK

Upcoming Committee Leadership Opportunities and Meetings

Committee Meetings. We are delighted to welcome members to join our Education and Training Committee Meeting on Wednesday, March 2 at 9AM. We hope to select 2022 Committee leadership and share some initials thoughts about 2022 Committee priorities, as well as share best practices from our recent re-openings.

Leadership Opportunities. Many committees are now soliciting interest from potential candidates interested in serving in leadership positions. Elections for most committees will take place in February or March if they haven’t already. If you are interested in serving in a leadership role, please contact existing Committee leaders, Board Liaisons, or Events and Committees Manager Lily Nguyen at lily.nguyen@amchamvietnam.com. While several committees have canceled early January meetings for the holidays, Committee meetings that take place are now open to both in-person (for fully-vaxed) and virtual participation. Please register in advance. All AmCham Vietnam members are welcome to join.

AmCham Membership Renewal. For many of you, it's time to renew your membership for 2022 and continue your involvement in AmCham, with opportunities for professional networking, business intelligence, advocacy to improve the business environment, and promotion of your business. We have been sending out 2022 Membership Renewal notices via email. We hope you all will renew promptly and that many will consider upgrading to become Premium Members! If you haven’t yet received your renewal notice, please contact Membership Manager Sam Hoang.

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 Da Nang and welcoming back the sun once again after a long week of cold and wind! Am sure that many of your companies like my own are dealing with increasing cases of F0’s. It has again become a challenging time for businesses. However, I would like to applaud the People’s Committee of Da Nang for ensuring the city remains open and following up on all aspects of COVID prevention, including administering the 3^rd dose of vaccine for all adults in the city. Hopefully, with that combined with the renewed sunshine and warmer weather from now throughout the summer, we will see a rapid decline in F0 and F1 cases. As always, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay vigilant!

COVID-19 Update from Healthcare Provider Subcommittee Chair

Dr. Mason Cobb and Andrew Meadows

"... just can't kill the beast"

For more information, LINK (to COVID page).

Advocacy

Please join our March 1 VBF Key Outcomes and Outlook: The Inside Story for a readout of one of our key advocacy events of the year! AmCham’s final position paper is attached LINK, as is the VBF compilation of papers LINK. Many thanks to all who contributed, particularly our AmCham Working Group Leads and 2021 VBF Representatives Eric Johnson and Fred Burke! Welcome now to our 2002 VBF Representatives Fred Burke and Alternate Ginny Foote!

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, and our Manufacturing and Supply Chain Task Force, at MFGTF@amch amvietnam.com

Committee Meetings & Activities (For AmCham Members only)

March 2: Education and Training 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.