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Global Economic Prospects, Idea Foundry, TET
FEATURES
Andrew Burns, World Bank Lead Economist


Tu, Jan 22

Andrew Burns, Manager of the WB Macroeconomics Team and lead author of Global Economic Prospects, will review the analysis, how fragility in the Euro Area and fiscal policy tensions in the United States can affect growth prospects in developing countries.
Well-known guest speakers from a variety of business sectors will share their outlooks, identify challenges and opportunities in the Year of the Snake.
Realizing the similarity between Pittsburgh city economic development history and the current stage of Vietnam's economic landscape, Idea Foundry will introduce programs to Vietnamese entrepreneurs that will assist Vietnam in its economic and social development.

to be printed in February, and delivered after TET. AmCham Members update or provide company profiles to Cindy Tran immediately. As you plan your marketing activities, be sure to consider this annual publication which is used daily by members and employees at AmCham's more than 700 member companies, with over 1,400 representatives.

Welcome to the New AmChamVietnam.com

Our team has been hard at work over the holidays in the last few weeks to launch our new "digital forward" presence. As we enter 2013, we are beginning our 11th year online. And the "online world" today is a far different place than in 2002, when our first website launched.

Events, Meetings & Special Offers

Regular monthly meeting of Manufacturing Committee to discuss key issues (eCustoms, developing local suppliers base, etc.) and develop action plan for 2013. Click here for more information and to register online. 

HR2B provides professional services in human resources management to business in Viet Nam. Our combination of quality process, international standard customer service, and local knowledge has made us one of the top 3 consulting companies in the country. With offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, and Da Nang, we add value to our clients' businesses through providing quality professional services.
Open FexEx account and enjoy TRIPLE rewards. Jan 21, 2013

Open a FedEx account before Apr 30, 2013 to enjoy triple rewards when shipping with FedEx. Plus 200,000 vnd Highland Coffee coupon upon account opening*, 400,000 vnd Big C voucher when making a shipment w/i the first 30 days after account is opened,* and 30% shipping discount on FedEx International Priority and International Express sent to/from Vietnam
until Jan 05, 2014."

Traditionally there are four main holidays: TET New Year's Eve (Sa, Feb 9, 2013), and TET New Year's Day (The First ) (Su, Feb 10, 2013), Second (Mo, Feb 11, 2013), and Third (Tu, Feb 12, 2013) Days of TET Nguyen Dan. However, since two of the official holidays are on the weekend, the holidays are observed on Sat, Feb 9 - Sun, Feb 17 (nine days). Vietnamese traditionally celebrate Tet for one month: from the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. And even today, business slows two weeks before and up to two weeks after TET. Plan ahead ... TET is only 3 weeks away! 

The delegation will seek meetings with the U.S. Embassy and Myanmar's key government officials to assess the business climate in Myanmar and discuss the challenges to the full normalization of economic relations. For more information, please contact John Goyer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

Through a grant sponsored by Danaher Corporation (Keithley, Fluke, Tektronix), the HEEAP Alliance will host the first annual Vietnam Conference on Engineering Education. This will be a national and Southeast Asia regional event to bring government-academic-industry leaders and faculty together to share best practices, create an annual event to bring the engineering education community together to network and share ideas, and continue the dialogue on engineering education transformation.

 

The annual Asia Pacific Business Outlook is the premier conference for exporters and investors targeting Asian markets. Get key intelligence on 17 markets by choosing from 60 focused sessions and private one-on-one consultations.

News and Issues Updates

Graham Garven, a partner with KPMG Indonesia and award-winning head of KPMG's Transfer Pricing practice, has left KPMG to join VDB Loi in Indonesia. With over 15 years' experience in Indonesia, Graham is widely acknowledged as one of Indonesia's most experienced foreign tax advisers. Initially as a Director and in 2009 as a partner with KPMG, Graham launched the firm's transfer pricing practice, which went on to win "TP Firm of the Year" in 2010 and 2012. Jean Loi, herself a former tax partner with PwC and now VDB Loi's managing partner commented,  "Graham has that rare combination of skills; he has structured many cross-border deals and transactions, but he also has that special frontline experience you get only from dealing with tax audits and challenges from the authorities.  His skill set fits very well with our firm's specialty in transactions and taxation." 

 

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched a tour last week of three of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Accompanied by a 100-strong delegation and 50 members from the Japanese media, he made official visits to Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, seeking to reinforce broad strategic partnerships with ASEAN in general and the three countries in particular. The People's Republic of China announced plans to survey the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which it disputes with Japan, and several ASEAN members have coastlines on the South China Sea. Abe's visit to Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia will conclude the sweeping regional tour of Japan's top leaders to strengthen the alliances. Already, between January 9 and 14, Fumio Kishida, Japan's foreign minister, visited the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei and Australia. And on January 4, Taro Aso, Japan's deputy prime minister and finance minister, paid a visit to Myanmar. Japan is facing growing tension with China over territorial disputes, and recent anti-Japanese sentiment in China has dampened Japan's confidence in China as its largest trading partner.   

Manufacturing companies are leaving China and moving factories to cheaper locales in Southeast Asia. Lever Style's CEO Stanley Szeto explains why his company is gradually moving production to Vietnam and Indonesia, in a video clip from the Wall Street Journal Digital Network: Asia Today.   

 The Twelve Days of FCPA: Useful Takeways (1) 

 

The First Day: Takeaway number one is simple: the focus on FCPA enforcement is unlikely to change in the near future. The 120-page Resources Guide to the FCPA, authored jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), divides into ten chapters, ranging from a discussion of the anti-bribery provisions themselves to a description of the types of resolutions available to the SEC and DOJ. The amount of time and energy that the agencies have put into the Resources Guide make it clear that FCPA enforcement is here to stay.  

Thailand's CP Group Aims High in Vietnam

 

Raising the profile of processed food brands is key to growth in a market where a growing middle class wants quality CP Vietnam, with 11,000 employees, is gearing up to expand its business more with a focus on food processing from live animals, as it reaffirms its optimism about the Vietnamese economy despite the difficulties seen in 2012. At present, more than 90% of CP's business in Vietnam currently derives from animal feed, farming and aquaculture. The processed food business accounts for only 3% of CPV's total revenue.  

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Ho Chi Minh City