AmCham Vietnam Weekly Update - 22nd Week of 2020 - May 30, 2020
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Executive Director Update
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Colleagues, we hope you are enjoying the unique almost-normal environment and freedoms we are enjoying in Vietnam, the country recognized as the global leader for its management of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also hope you are getting out and supporting your local restaurants, bars, and local shops, as well as enjoying a staycation at a nearby hotel -- or visiting some of the other beautiful resorts and destinations in Vietnam - free of the usual crowds!
This week, we had some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Chad Ovel, current AmCham Vietnam-HCMC Vice Chairman and Mekong Capital Partner, has been elected as our new 2020 AmCham Vietnam-HCMC Chairman, effective June 1. The bad news is that Chairwoman Amanda Rasmussen will be stepping down from her role as Chairwoman to accept a new position in Europe, and to move with her family to Denmark this summer. We are sad to see Amanda leave, but are delighted to welcome Chad as Chair. Please join us for a farewell celebration for Amanda on Thursday, June 4 at 6PM at the InterContinental Saigon to show our appreciation for her many years of support to AmCham, including outstanding leadership as 2019 and 2020 Chairwoman - please register
HERE
.
This week, we also had our first post-lockdown AmCham 101 New Members Orientation. It was great to get to meet 17 members in person, and 7 more virtually and to hear more about their interests in joining AmCham.
We also held our first post-lockdown Connect & Cocktail. Let's just say it's clear there is a pent-up demand for networking and connection. We had to cap participation at 120 and say no to many who wanted to join. A thunderstorm and lightning forced us to relocate from our planned beautiful outdoor poolside venue at The Reverie to the indoor Long Bar. While the overwhelming feedback we received was positive, including some who suggested we hold C&Cs twice/month (!), others were not as comfortable with the indoor venue, where it was harder to maintain social distancing. We take this feedback to heart as all of navigate this uncharted post-COVID territory. In coordination with guidance from Dr. Mason Cobb, Vice Chairman of our Healthcare Committee Medical Providers Subcommittee, we will do our best to ensure recommended Vietnamese Government safety and health protocols, and to inform our members so you can make choices based upon your own comfort levels, as well as health risk factors of you and your family members. See our Coronavirus Update below.
Next week, we will re-launch our Tourism and Hospitality Committee, with volunteer leadership from Board Member and IHG South Vietnam and Laos Area General Manager Colin McCandless, Lodgis Hospitality Holdings Executive Vice President Craig Douglas, Riverside Towers Director (Da Nang) Chris Vanloon, and Grant Thornton Vietnam Founder and Senior Board Adviser Ken Atkinson. Other volunteer leadership is welcome from hotels, travel agencies, restaurants, airlines, and others in the Tourism and Hospitality industry. The committee will focus on professional networking, sharing of best practices, business intelligence, advocacy, as well as business promotion activities to promote the Tourism and Hospitality sector throughout Vietnam, particularly in South and Central Vietnam. While normally, AmCham committees are open to member-only Committee participation, for the first meeting of our newly relaunched committee, we will also welcome potential members. Our first meeting is scheduled on June 2, participation possible in-person at the InterContinental Saigon, or virtually via Zoom.
Click
HERE
to register.
Meanwhile, AmCham Vietnam-HCMC wants to continue to support you as Vietnam reopens and begins its economic recovery. We welcome your feedback at
team@amchamvietnam.com
to let us know how we can serve you better, including what topics you would like to see covered in upcoming events. A summary of recent actions is below:
1. Policy Recommendations.
AmCham Vietnam-HCMC continues to make an impact. Thanks to your feedback and recommendations, and expert advisers in our COVID19 Policy Task Force (Baker & McKenzie's Fred Burke, Nguyen Thuy Hang, Chung Yee, and Nguyen Thanh Vinh; AIM's Mark Gillin; Mayer Brown's Ursula Szotyory-Grove; and Vriens & Co's Sam Pursch) - as well as often Chair of AmCham Hanoi VBF and Legal Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai, we are providing timely, constructive recommendations to the Vietnamese government on both COVID-related and general trade and investment policies. This week, Fred Burke presented recommendations at a meeting with the Office Of Government as AmCham's Representative to the Prime Minister's Advisory Council on Administrative Procedure Reforms on a wide range of issues, based on committee and member input.
2. Contributions of Goods and Financial Contributions by AmCham and our Member Companies to Support the Vietnamese Government's Response.
AmCham Vietnam-HCMC commends the effectiveness of actions taken by Vietnamese Government leaders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is proud of the contributions toward this response made by our member companies. We are delighted to see Vietnam's response finally getting global recognition.
To support the response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to build the capacity to respond to outbreaks of other infectious diseases, AmCham Vietnam-HCMC has launched our appeal for contributions towards a PCR analyzer which is also critical equipment for managing Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control's response to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The cost of this device is about $60,000. We already have received $10,000 from the previous appeal, so now are seeking $50,000 more. Both AmCham and the HCMC’s People's Committee want to avoid the lack of transparency issues that occurred in Hanoi CDC with respect to COVID-related equipment acquisitions. Therefore, AmCham's Healthcare Committee and our team have carried out extensive due diligence both for the purchase of the RNA/DNA extractor, and the planned purchase and donation of a PCR analyzer. If you are able to contribute to this important cause, please Office Manager
Cindy Tran
for additional information.
We also are happy to highlight any COVID-related contributions from our member companies on our social media and with the U.S. Mission. Please email details to
Cindy Tran
.
3. Identifying companies that want to manufacture Personal Protective Equipment for export to the United States.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has asked AmCham for assistance in identifying companies that may want to manufacture PPE for export to the United States. USAID is coordinating this initiative through the LinkSME program. If your company has interest/capability in manufacturing and exporting PPE, please contact Frank Weiand at
fweiand@linksme.org
for more information.
4. Supporting Local Business.
We are happy to see lockdown measures lifted, but know many businesses in Ho Chi Minh City and throughout Vietnam still are struggling, particularly small, local businesses. We at AmCham want to support local businesses which contribute so much to our quality of life in Vietnam by inviting them to join our 2020 AmCham Discount Partnership Program. Please consider joining for your company or refer a favorite local business by sending their email address or a copy of their business card to Membership Manager
Sam Hoang
. To our members, please make sure you support our Discount Partners, many of which now offer online shopping or delivery services. Click
HERE
for our Discount Partners information.
5. Supporting Vietnam's Front-Line Workers.
To continuously support the Vietnamese Government in the COVID-19 fight, AmCham Vietnam-HCMC would like to call for your contribution of less perishable food items to some of the front-line workers in Vietnam's hospitals and public quarantine areas. We are working with the Vietnam Fatherland Front of HCMC for this campaign. Contact Office Manager
Cindy Tran
, who can ensure contributions are still welcomed and coordinate delivery.
Please stay well, be safe, and enjoy our new normal environment! And feel virtuous supporting local businesses by eating out or taking a vacation. Many of our member companies' wonderful hotels and resorts are offering special deals!!
Mary Tarnowka, Executive Director
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Stay Informed- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak
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AmCham Vietnam wants to provide a safe environment for events and business networking. We recognize VIetnam is a global leader in its response to the COVID-19 outbreak with nearly 1 and 1/2 months without community spread. Yet, there is always a risk of a second outbreak, particularly if measures liberalize with respect to international arrivals. We also know that we all have different comfort levels with respect to the changing situation. Some of our colleagues were on the first plane out post-lockdown. Others are still largely social distancing and only getting together with a few close friends or business contacts.
In response, AmCham will begin a rating system for all of our events, explained below. We hope this is useful to you in making your own decisions about which events in which you would like to participate. As always, we welcome your feedback at
team@amchamvietnam.com.
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Some additional tips below from Dr. Mason Cobb, Vice-Chair, and Dr. Andy Meadows, of AmCham Healthcare Committee’s Medical Providers Subcommittee:
Vietnam has successfully managed the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been more than a month since the last positive case from community spread
. Politico,
an American news site, rates Vietnam as world's number one at controlling the pandemic while maintaining its economic growth.
However, WHO and epidemiology experts (including the Vietnamese Government’s National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control) see a second wave of cases as a real danger. The Committee stressed that it is critical to maintain vigilance and not allow relaxation of behaviors that have proven so successful.
Social life in Vietnam is rapidly returning to something approaching normal. Coffee shops and restaurants are more crowded, with larger groups enjoying congregating once again. We see some relaxation of mask use. We are all enjoying going out and socializing again. However, individual risks should be weighed and adjustments made during these precious times dining out - especially with the specter of a second wave,
or if you or family members have pre-existing conditions that put you at a higher risk.
Coffee shops and restaurants are mostly
practicing good techniques to halt
of the transmission of the virus. However, dining out is still carries some risk. There are many highly trafficked surfaces -- door handles, sinks, furniture, even condiment containers or shared utensils – that must be considered. Often the staff simply cannot perform the sanitation required on all these surfaces as well as the proper social distancing. Naturally, dining and drinking requires taking off the face mask that provides protection from droplets in the inside air that are spread by other patrons. Although most establishments are save, it is wise to watch the techniques of staff at a given venue.
There are steps to take to minimize risk, while still enjoying the pleasures of dining out.Of course, the basic measures of hand sanitizing along with avoiding touching the face, eyes, mouth, wearing a mask to and from the Restaurant, and keeping 2-meter distance when possible are always appropriate. More coffee shop and restaurant-specific measures include using alcohol wipes to clean your dining area and any condiment containers. Where possible, sit outside as the airflow greatly reduces the risk of virus transmission through the air, the primary route of spread. Finally, it may be reasonable to consider take-away style disposable containers and utensils even for dine-in, as the risk of cross-contamination is probably lower.
It is a joy to dine out again and it can be done safely while still enjoying the pleasures.
Those of us who live in Vietnam are living in the safest place in the world. But this is not the time to let our guard down.
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6:00-8:30pm,
InterContinental Saigon, Corner Hai Ba Trung St. and Le Duan Blvd., District 1
Level I Rating
Join us for a farewell cocktail reception for departing AmCham Vietnam-HCMC Chairwoman Amanda Rasmussen, who will be leaving Vietnam this summer for a new position in Europe after almost two decades in Vietnam. Through her dedication and strategic leadership, including serving as 2019 and 2020 AmCham Vietnam-HCMC Chairwoman, Amanda has made outstanding contributions to AmCham Vietnam-HCMC and the U.S.-Vietnam economic partnership. She also founded AmCham’s Logistics and Supply Chain Committee, served its first Chair, and helped plan many amazing and fun Governors Balls!
We will be honored to welcome the participation of Consul General Marie Damour, AmCham Board Members, members, and friends. Don’t miss this opportunity for our AmCham community to say farewell to Amanda and wish her well for her next endeavor!
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4:00-5:00pm, New World Saigon Hotel, 76 Le Lai Street, Dist. 1
Level II Rating
At this new members event, you will learn more from our Executive Director, Mary Tarnowka, about AmCham Vietnam benefits, our mission, and programs to help new members achieve success, and how to get involved in and maximize your investment in AmCham membership. It is also a way to meet other new AmCham Vietnam HCMC members. While this event is designed for new members, we welcome other members on a space available basis. Contact
Ms. Sam Hoang
for more information.
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Saturday, July 4th, 2020
11:30am-5:00pm
Riverside Apartments, An Phu, District 2
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Level I Rating
Join the American community of Ho Chi Minh City in celebrating Independence Day with a traditional picnic event hosted by AMCHAM HCMC. This year's event will celebrate 244 years of American Independence.
The event will feature a variety of "Free Flow" food and beverage options, from American BBQ with traditional burgers, hot dogs, ribs, tacos, fried chicken, pizzas, apple pie, popcorn along with International and local cuisine to round out the bountiful selections on offer.
Live Music all day featuring American rock, pop, blues, and folk music throughout the event and children will enjoy a terrific kids corner with many fun activities including face painting, and bouncy castle.
With live music, great food, cold drinks, and entertainment for children and adults alike, AmCham Independence Day and Community Picnic is bound to be a fun-filled day for everyone.
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In the employment relationship, there is always the potential for conflict between the employer and the employee, which may lead to a disruption to the company's business. Therefore, the company should not only be concerned as to whether its actions are in accordance with the law but also to the serious, non-apparent consequences of a labor dispute. In this booklet, we would like to share (i) important legal provisions on the settlement of labor disputes and (ii) typical labor disputes and discussion on solutions and exchange of experiences and (iii) non-disclosure agreement and non-competition agreement.
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Book our hottest flash sale only from VND 400,000 ++ / guest / night* at Citadines Bayfront Nha Trang with stay date until 30 September 2020! Swap your worries for sunny days, tranquil beaches and exciting adventures ahead in the best coastal city in Vietnam!
*
T&C applied.
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On track for departure on Wednesday 1st July 2020, The Vietage will take guests on a journey through the Vietnamese countryside linking Da Nang and Quy Nhon.
Bringing luxury railway travel to South Central Vietnam, the custom-designed opulent carriage, with just 12 reservation-only seats, will immerse its guests into the culture, nature and history of the country through the stories of its daily return journey.
The Vietage will reveal more details soon on its launch into the world of luxury train travel.
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Committee Meetings & Activities (For AmCham Members Only)
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4:00-5:30pm,
Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
Level II Rating
Our
guest speaker is Romil Sheth, Principal Sasaki Group, Boston MA. The government of Ho Chi Minh City recently announced the selection of Sasaki, a U.S. design firm, to develop ideas for an international finance centre and innovation district in the eastern part of the city. We will discuss background of the project, timing, process, incentives and opportunities for AmCham members and U.S. related companies to get involve.
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9:00-10:30am,
InterContinental Saigon, Corner Hai Ba Trung St. and Le Duan Blvd., District 1
Level II Rating
AmCham Vietnam is delighted to announce the re-launch of our Tourism and Hospitality Committee, with volunteer leadership from Board Member and IHG South Vietnam and Laos Area General Manager Colin McCandless, Lodgis Hospitality Holdings Executive Vice President Craig Douglas, Riverside Towers Director (Da Nang) Chris Vanloon, and Grant Thornton Vietnam Founder and Senior Board Adviser Ken Atkinson. Other volunteer leadership is welcome from hotels, travel agencies, restaurants, airlines, and others in the Tourism and Hospitality industry.
The committee will focus on professional networking, sharing of best practices, business intelligence, advocacy, as well as business promotion activities and events to support the Tourism and Hospitality sector throughout Vietnam, particularly in South and Central Vietnam. A particular priority now will be to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, promote domestic tourism and hospitality (perhaps with a Rediscover Vietnam campaign), and plan how to promote safe reopening to international tourism.
While normally AmCham committees are open to member-only participation, for this first meeting of our newly-relaunched committee, we also will welcome potential members. Please feel free to share with others you think might find of interest.
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8:30-10:00am,
AmCham Vietnam HCMC, Suite 323, New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai Street, Dist. 1
Level II Rating
You can join us virtually or physically. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
Monthly meeting to discuss 2020 priorities.
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8:30-10:00am, DuPont office, Level 12 Deutsches Haus, 33 Le Duan, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1
Level II Rating
- Introduction to new Committee Board
- Adoption on the Committee Principles
- Activity Review and Plan for Key activities in 2nd half
- Budget funding
- Other issues
You can join us virtually or physically.
For physical attendees, the maximum number of seats are 15. Please register in advance to reserve your seat.
For virtual attendees, please register to receive the Zoom link.
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9:00-10:30am, AmCham Office, Room 323, New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai Street, Dist. 1
Level II Rating
You can join us virtually or physically. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
Monthly meeting to discuss 2020 priorities.
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5:00-6:15pm. Baker & McKenzie (Vietnam) Ltd, 12th Floor, Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan Street, District 1
Level II Rating
You can join us virtually or physically. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
Regular monthly meeting of the committee to review upcoming events, discuss and prepare positions on key issues, laws and regulations relating to trade and investment between Vietnam and the United States.
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9:00-10:00am,
AmCham Office, Room 323, New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai Street, Dist. 1
Level II Rating
You can join us virtually or physically. Please register to get the link for virtual attendance.
Monthly meeting to discuss 2020 priorities.
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AmCham Premium Membership
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The AmCham Premium Membership 2020 is a leadership-level membership for companies contributing strategic support for AmCham's mission and programs. Our Premium Membership comes with a range of exclusive benefits. One all-inclusive Premium Membership's annual billing simplifies your businesses' sponsorship efforts.
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We love our AmCham members! Do you know all the benefits you get with your membership? Maybe you only remember the ones you've used recently, but there are many ways even our basic level members benefit at AmCham.
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The American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam
New World Hotel Suite 323
76 Le Lai Street, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Phone: +84 28 3824 3562
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