Message from the Chair – October 2019

October has been an active month at AmCham Vietnam – including a successful Supplier Day, robust committee and business events, and on-going advocacy activities surrounding potential changes to laws affecting many of our members. And, as our new Executive Director completes her second month with AmCham, Mary Tarnowka continues to canvas the membership, as well as participate in many business events, to open doors to existing and new members and opportunities for the HCMC chapter.  It is an exciting time for the organization.

AmCham HCMC Supplier Day

AmCham’s HCMC Supplier Day was a huge success, with over 100 exhibitors and 600 visitors at full day including interactive workshops with experts to explore, establish, and expand supply chain business partnerships.  This event marked AmCham’s 6^th Supplier Day, organized in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Link SME project, and along with many member corporate sponsorships to help facilitate partnerships between Vietnamese and foreign firms and support the integration of small and medium-sized businesses into Vietnamese and global supply chains.

Advocacy

AmCham’s HR Committee continues to press advocacy on the proposed Draft Labor Code in advance of the current session of the National Assembly. In the past month alone, AmCham has joined in many meetings with decision-makers and other associations, and jointly signed a position letter with several business associations and another chamber on several important issues directed to the provincial delegations of the National Assembly. Some of those meetings included the National Assembly HCMC Delegation and VCCI National Employers’ Conference on Oct 14.

On other proposed draft legislation, members of AmCham’s Legal Committee this past month drafted a position paper which AmCham HCMC issued to the Vietnam government on reducing administrative requirements related to cosmetics, including proposals on premarket approvals and requirements related to importing cosmetics into Vietnam. This position paper was followed by participation at a CIEM (Central Institute for Economic Management) event in HCMC on October 24^th.

In addition to the committee-generated advocacy work, AmCham Vietnam is involved in other organizations with advocacy and issue-raising on trade and investment in Vietnam. As one of the founding chambers, AmCham participates in the Vietnam Business Forum, and members participate in several working groups to continuously keep dialogue on several advocacy and administrative reform measures to improve the business climate in Vietnam. AmCham also is a member of APCAC, which issued its policy report as part of the annual July “Doorknock” in Washington D.C. A blueprint of policy proposals also comes in from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which issued a report on the U.S. government’s opportunities with Vietnam to improve trade and investment ties.

Upcoming Events

The rest of 2019 will continue to be busy with business and committee meetings, as well as signature AmCham events. Be sure not to miss anything by often checking our online calendar.  Please also keep mind these special events:

• Nov 11 — Come “Meet the Candidates” running for a Governor position on AmCham Vietnam HCMC board. Open to AmCham Members only.
• Nov 21 — Our 25th Anniversarywill be celebrated at special black-tie dinner event
• Nov 28 — 19th Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot Golf Tournament & Lunch
• Dec 7 — Annual Governors’ Ball— this year will be a special “Silver Ball”
• Dec 8 — Breakfast with Santa
• Dec 10 — Annual General meeting

New Members 

We continue to welcome new members all year long.  As such, we are holding a new-member (“AmCham 101”) orientation on November 11^th  with E.D. Mary Tarnowka. This special invitation-only event is for members who have recently joined in the past few months. Contact Sam Hoang for more information.

We thank the following new members:

Corporate Members: American Eye Center Vietnam, Anh Duong Company, Hertz Vietnam, Gia Thuy Company (GT-Industrial), Georgetown University, Mekong Capital, Shire Oak International Limited, Tenzing Pacific Services Vietnam, Therm-x SVT, Varian Medical Systems Pacific Inc., Vietnamese-German University

In the next month, those representatives with membership on the calendar year will receive renewal notices for AmCham Vietnam HCMC membership.  We hope you will renew, and stay active and engaged in AmCham. Special offers will apply for members renewing by December 31^st.

We are striving every day to make AmCham Vietnam an inclusive, diverse and dynamic chamber! Thank you for your engagement and support!

With Best Regards,
Amanda Rasmussen
Chairwoman