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

Our business and advocacy efforts have been in full swing this month!  We opened September with a successful National Conference and Networking weekend.  Our committees have also been very active with information sharing and advocacy, including significant efforts by AmCham’s HR committee on the revised Labor Code.  We were also privileged to welcome Consul General Marie Damour to Ho Chi Minh City at a special dinner event with our members and guests.

National Conference Recap

On September 6^th & 7^th, we had a record turn-out for the annual National Conference and Networking Weekend, hosted this year in HCMC.  We kicked off the weekend with a reception with U.S. Ambassador Kritenbrink, Consul General Damour, members of the U.S. Mission and AmCham members from both chapters HCMC and Hanoi at historic Salon Saigon.

Saturday morning provided a rare opportunity for a tour of the Consulate General grounds.  A networking lunch at East West Brewing Co. began the conference, and moved on to the InterContinental Saigon with a full afternoon of workshop and break-out sessions co-lead by key U.S. Mission officers and AmCham Board members in participation with many AmCham members. The AmCham HCMC and Hanoi boards finished the business of the day with the annual joint meeting.

The Weekend was capped off with AmCham’s Taste of America dinner Saturday evening at Grain Cooking Studio, where guests enjoyed American spirits, wines and beverages paired with a menu created and led by four U.S. chefs who shared their stories and dishes over live cooking demonstrations. The weekend would not have been possible without the time and contributions of the U.S. Mission Vietnam, AmCham boards and members, and our sponsors!  On behalf of the Board of Governors, thank you!

Information Sharing and Advocacy

Sharing knowledge and representation on issues are at the heart of what AmCham does for its members. The past month has been very active with events including:

• Board of Governor panel on the China-U.S. Trade War, the impact on Vietnam, and news from Washington D.C.
• Real Estate Technology and Trends Going Forward event
• Compliance and Risk Management for Companies Doing Business in Vietnam event
• Participation in 500 start-ups Demo Day

AmCham’s HR committee has been very active on information sharing and advocacy on the revised Labor Code, as the National Assembly 8^th Session will review this draft and vote in October-November 2019.  The committee participated on September 18^th in a workshop held by the Central Institute for Economic Management. Many specialists from these fields attended to share their opinions and proposals for the Draft. There was also participation from industry and business associations, who raised practical problems stemming from changes to the Draft. Additional work is on-going and planned for the rest of this month and October leading up to the upcoming legislative session.

Board Elections—Call for Recommendations!

The Nominating Committee is seeking recommendations for candidates for the Board of Governors in HCMC.  Voting AmCham members may recommend themselves or another person.

There are 9 positions open on the Board for the next two-year term, Jan 2020 – Dec 2021.

See the attached link for who may recommend/be recommended, the process for recommending and formal nomination, and other important information.  Recommendations may be made through Friday, October, 18, 2019.

Upcoming Events

Am Cham Supplier Day 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City is set for October 16^th, and is organized in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It aims to facilitate supplier-buyer relationships between Vietnamese and foreign firms and integrate small and medium-sized businesses into global supply chains. The all-day event is at the Adora Center in HCMC, and will feature workshops, exhibitors and opportunities to match suppliers with manufacturers, supply chains and logistics.

One of our biggest events of the year is our celebration dinner marking AmCham’s 25^th year in Vietnam. Please join us as a sponsor and/or guest on Thursday, November 7^th. The planning committee is underway to make this celebration special. Watch for updated information on the event and sponsorship packages.

Save the Dates! We are also busy planning other events including our popular Governors’ Ball on December 7^th and the Annual General Meeting on December 10^th.  Watch for announcements soon on those event details.

New Members 

We welcome the following new corporate and professional members to AmCham:

Corporate Members: Anh Duong Company, Apectrans JSC, Becamex Tokyu Company, Ceva Logistics Company Limited, Covestro (Vietnam) Company, Hong Ky Company, Hung Hau Agriculture Corporation, Long Thanh Plastic Company, Luong Nguyen Services Company – Genki Japan House, Mapletree Vietnam Management, Nu-Star Inc., Saigon Asset Management (SAM), Saigon Psychology, TCPVN Company Limited, Teibto LLC, Toptour Travel Company.

Senior Professional Member: Mr. Barry Clark

As we approach the final quarter of the year, we continue to encourage you to stay involved with AmCham. If you have yet to make connections or need help finding the right fit, let your Board members or the AmCham staff know how we can improve your experience. It is your AmCham!

Thank you!

With Best Regards,
Amanda Rasmussen
Chairwoman

By now, I hope you have heard our big news that Mary Tarnowka, the former U.S. Consul General to Vietnam, has joined AmCham Vietnam as its new Executive Director in Ho Chi Minh City.

Mary’s experience in both the private sector and foreign service, including the past three years serving as one of the top leaders of Vietnam’s U.S. Mission, will provide AmCham with invaluable insight and opportunities to improve trade and investment of and between Vietnam and the U.S.  We are thrilled Mary will lead our organization to improve the business climate and advocacy channels for all our members.

Mary Tarnowka

Please join me and the Board of Governors in welcoming Mary aboard at a special members-only Meet and Greet mixer on Thursday, August 22 at the Caravelle Hotel.  This event is reserved for AmCham members to provide for an intimate forum to welcome Mary to the AmCham Vietnam family.  Be sure to register in advance: https://www.amchamvietnam.com/events/welcome-mary-member-networking-mixer-with-amchams-new-executive-director/

If you’d like to hear more about what we learned during the D.C. DoorKnock, attend our Update on China Trade War and Impact on Vietnam-Report from Washington on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at the InterContinental Saigon Hotel. https://www.amchamvietnam.com/events/update-on-china-trade-war-and-impact-on-vietnam-report-from-washington-august-2019/.  Board Members Walter Blocker, Hang Nguyen and Mark Gillin will share their insights and news from D.C., as moderated by our new E.D. Mary Tarnowka.

Thank you!

I wish to thank all of our members who participated in our member survey in June and July.  We received invaluable feedback—what you like, what we can improve upon and where we can grow.  Please look in the coming weeks for a short summary of those results.  We have heard you and want to make AmCham Vietnam the best it can be!

Upcoming Events