AmCham exec plans to drive clean energy, digital economy and wellness

What will you do to turn AmCham's objectives into a success during your term?

AmCham Vietnam's vision in Ho Chi Minh City is to be the most influential, strategic, and dynamic business association in Vietnam, driving innovation and sustainable growth to help our members succeed.

The year 2023 will bring great opportunities, and inevitably some challenges, for the economies of both the U.S. and Vietnam. AmCham will reinforce its close collaboration with the U.S. business community in Vietnam, with the U.S. Mission, and with the Vietnamese Government to continue to strengthen the important trade relationship between the two countries. We look forward to contributing to the sustainable growth of commerce in the interest of AmCham’s members.

You are a former international investment banking executive, mainly with JP Morgan and Banco Santander. How does this support your AmCham post and the interests of AmCham members?

My banking career was focused on emerging markets, with particular specializations in foreign trade and international capital markets.

AmCham Vietnam represents the business community of the United States, Vietnam’s biggest export market. In that context, my long experience in international commerce has proven useful in my role.

AmCham Vietnam counts many of the U.S. largest multinational corporations among its more than three thousand members, and many of those companies are significant buyers of Vietnamese-made products. American private and government investors and lenders are among the most active in financing the continued growth of the Vietnamese economy. In that sense, it is useful to have an understanding of the markets, financial instruments, and main players that support foreign investment into Vietnam.

Before taking the chairmanship at AmCham, I served as a board governor, as chairman of the ESG & Sustainability Committee, and chairman of the Banking Subcommittee.

Global economic headwinds are facing many economies worldwide. What is AmCham Vietnam doing to reinforce its close collaboration with the U.S. business community in Vietnam, with the U.S. Mission, and with the Vietnamese Government to continue to strengthen the important trade relationship between the two countries?

The United States is one of the top foreign investors in Vietnam and its biggest export market. The vibrant trade relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam is one of the world’s most important.

AmCham represents more than 650 companies and 2,500 individual business representatives throughout Vietnam, accounting for billions of dollars in investment, thousands of employees, and a significant share of Vietnam’s export and tax revenues.

AmCham Vietnam’s mission is to promote trade and investment between Vietnam and the United States and to serve as the voice of American businesses in Vietnam. Thanks to the constructive engagement of the U.S. Mission in Vietnam and of AmCham, the Vietnamese government has been very open and responsive to suggestions and recommendations from the foreign business community in the interests of continually improving the business environment.

I was honored to speak at the recent Vietnam Business Forum held in Hanoi last month, in the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

AmCham has been making several concrete recommendations to assist the Vietnamese government in accelerating the transition to clean energy, unlocking the potential of the digital economy, and prioritizing health and wellness as key pillars for social and economic development.

I also emphasize the importance of streamlining the process for foreign executives to obtain business visas, and of bringing Vietnam’s tax and customs policies into line with international standards. AmCham looks forward to its continued partnership with the Vietnamese government in 2023 to advance these important objectives.