Community. It was one of those feelings – of a diverse, warm, welcoming community - that made me select my daughter’s school, the International School of Ho Chi Minh City, seven years ago, when I visited from Seoul. At her graduation ceremony Saturday at the historic and iconic Independence Palace (aka Reunification Palace or Dinh Độc Lập), I once again was struck by the importance of community as we celebrated these students coming together, collaborating with kindness, and supporting each other through the challenges of the pandemic as they continued to be “energized, engaged, and empowered learners”. I was grateful to ISHCMC and a personal community of family and friends who supported my daughter along the way, including her sister, who traveled from San Francisco with her husband to be there to celebrate.

Empathy. The students’ elected graduation speaker, Teacher Batjargal Batmunkh, in his remarks, shared lessons from others. One that resonated with me: “Your Math and Science teachers would like to remind you of probability; that it’s all about luck. They would agree that in this probability of life, we are all incredibly lucky. Lucky to have been conceived, lucky to have survived childbirth, lucky to have been dealt the kind of hand that has you graduating from this prestigious Independence Hall. We shouldn’t confuse our luck & privilege with feelings of entitlement. Understanding that you can’t truly take all the credit for your successes nor truly blame others for their failures; that kind of awareness humbles you and makes you more compassionate. As Tim Minchin said: "Empathy is intuitive but it's also something we can work on intellectually". And I know you are all intellectuals of the highest order.”

A Community You Want to Join. As I reflect on the last two plus years that we have experienced through the pandemic at AmCham, I am grateful for the community we have built as we supported each other in adversity, joining hands in advocacy, sharing best practices as we all learned together, and contributing to our local communities as we strived to “continue to be the most influential, strategic, and dynamic business association in Vietnam, that drives innovation and sustainable growth and helps our members succeed”. I value our commitment to be a “diverse and inclusive” business association, with the aim to be “a community you want to join!” And I am grateful that, once again, we can come together for the AmCham Independence Day Celebration and Community Picnic to celebrate the U.S. Independence Day, together with our fellow AmCham member colleagues, family, and friends – this year on July 2^nd. I hope to see you there - register now!  LINK  And also join us on July 7 to bid farewell to U.S. Consul General Marie Damour! LINK

Watch the Saturday, June 11, 10:30-11:30AM FB live-stream of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s remarks about the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy delivered at Fulbright University Vietnam. LINK Deputy Secretary of State Sherman is a distinguished foreign policy expert who has served in senior positions in three administrations (bio at LINK). 

Leave your laptop behind and invest in your personal wellbeing. Join our June 15^th in-person-only 360 Degree Health and Wellness: Thriving in a COVID-Endemic World. And practice your IRL social skills with a follow-on reception. LINK

As we all gear back up to full production, learn on June 16^th how to Manage Ethical Supply Chains: Attracting and Maintaining a Quality Workforce, at a hybrid in-person and virtual event, with simultaneous interpretation available in Vietnamese and English. Join with your HR and talent teams! LINK

AmCham members are invited to join in-person or virtually at upcoming Committee meetings:

June 8 5-6pm Legal & VBF Liaison Committee Meeting LINK

June 9 4-5:30pm Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee Meeting LINK

Vietnam Economic Forum 2022. AmCham attended the Fourth Vietnam Economic Forum on Sunday, June 5, the first time the event was held in HCMC. The Forum, organized by the Central Economic Commission and co-hosted by Politburo Members Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, CEC Chair Tran Tuan Anh, and HCMC Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen, focused on developing a “Resilient, Independent, and Deeply Integrated Economy”. Panelists including international economic experts and Vietnam expert Member company representatives VinaCapital Co-Founder and CEO Don Lam and Fulbright University Vietnam School of Public Policy and Management Dean Vu Thanh Tu Anh. Chair Winnie Wong and Governor RamC attended the Forum. Lots of good insights at the forum; we hope to get a digital version of presentations we can share.

AmCham Membership Renewal. Renew now to retain your membership benefits! If you haven’t already, make sure you renew your membership now to continue your involvement in AmCham, with opportunities for professional networking, business intelligence, advocacy to improve the business environment, and promotion of your business. Please renew promptly and consider upgrading to become Premium Members! If you haven’t yet received your renewal notice, please contact Membership Manager Sam Hoang. 

AmCham Premium Corporate 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

It was great to join AmCham member IPPG VP for Business Development and IPPG Travel Retail CEO Phillip Nguyen at #ROUTESASIA in Da Nang on June 6. The event welcomed airline representatives from throughout the region as part of efforts to rebuild air routes and promote tourism. Da Nang People’s Committee Chairman said “Routes Asia will provide a golden opportunity to promote inbound tourism opportunities and drive the socio-economic growth for the city. By hosting the event, we will proactively position Da Nang as a hub for entrepreneurship, innovation, logistics, finance and culture.” We are thrilled to see Da Nang back in business with so many business leaders and tourists visiting our beautiful city!

Pharmaceutical Marketing Authorizations Breakthrough. On June 2, the Ministry of Health (MOH) Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) issued its first batch of Pharmaceutical Marketing Authorizations for over 1500 products whose MAs were set to expire before June 30. This has been a top advocacy concern of AmCham Vietnam and our Healthcare Committee, and an essential action to ensure clear access to lifesaving, innovative drugs in Vietnam. We look forward to issuance of additional MAs to ensure continued access and avoid supply chain disruptions. 

National/VBF. Thank you to all who contributed advocacy issues for the June 24^th Vietnam Business Forum Technical Session with MPI. Our submission is attached. LINK. Sponsorship opportunities are available for the Technical Session, as well as a limited number of tickets for attendees. Please contact the Vietnam Business Forum Secretariat for details. And please see our special VBF Update from 2022 AmCham VBF Representative Fred Burke. There is lots going on - stay informed! LINK

Fred Burke's update: It was a busy week at the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF), looking to the "Technical Session" with the Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, which we hope will be held on June 24th. In brief:

The Human Resources Working Group has been having internal meetings on work-permit regulations, Labor Law and the new proposed Regional Minimum Wage. Items of particular concern in the run up to the Technical Session include among others inputs from all of the Business Associations on the difficulties of enterprises in implementing Decree 152, sending a letter to the MOLISA which includes the concerns that the Working Group had expressed at the last High Level Forum in February but which have not yet been addressed. 

The Environmental Working Group is considering engaging in a special project on Financing Decarbonization.

The Investment & Trade Working Group submitted an important letter to the Office of the Government regarding the "business license" (aka "trading license") requirement for foreign invested enterprises, a requirement that involves many months of delay in getting even simple commercial operations up and running. This is hardly a new issue, but no one expected this particular piece of red tape to last so long. The WG hopes to meet with the MPI on this subject before the Technical Session. Other preparatory meetings include among others a proposed meeting with the State Bank and the MPI on the issue of the new Circular on offshore loans, which threatens to tighten credit in Vietnam just when it needs capital to recover.

Meanwhile, the Digital Economy Working Group commend on several important draft legal instruments including the Draft Decree on E-Identification & Authentication, the Draft Law on e-Transactions, etc.. A meeting with the National Agency of Cryptography and Information Security, Government Cipher Committee was planned for June 7th.

From the Tourism Working Group, we saw a letter to the Government on getting the tourism sector back up on its feet again, with a variety of constructive proposals for new measures including broadening the visa-free country list among other things.

The Tax & Customs Working Group prepared comments on Circular 80/2021/TT-BTC, elaborating certain articles on the new Law on Tax Administration and Decree 126/2020/ND-CP. 

More information, including the complete papers submitted by business associations and the government's various responses, may be found on the www.vbf.org website. Come to the monthly Legal & VBF Committee meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at the Baker McKenzie offices in Hanoi and HCMC to join in the discussions of these efforts and other new developments. 

AmChams of the Asia Pacific July Doorknock. We encourage AmCham members who are interested to register for the AmChams of the Asia-Pacific (AAP) July 17-20 AAP Doorknock in Washington DC (registration fee $1000) LINK. 

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, advocacyaction@amchamvietnam.com 

June 8: Legal & VBF Liaison Committee Meeting

June 9: Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee Meeting

June 14: Energy Committee Meeting

June 15: Healthcare Committee Meeting

June 16: HR Committee Meeting

June 17: Agriculture Committee Meeting

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.

Venue TBC

InterContinental Saigon, Corner of Hai Ba Trung St. and Le Duan Blvd., Dist. 1

For more information, visit www.amchamAP.com