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NEWS
The Vietnam International Food Industry Exhibition 2015 took place from May 13-16, 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City, attracting 300 exhibitors from 15 countries and territories. Vietnam is one of the top exporting countries with products such as Cashew, Pepper, Coffee, Cassava, rice, seafood and tea, so this is a market with many opportunities in the field of food. On this occasion, in the collaboration with ICHAM and ICE, the General Consulate of Italy in Ho Chi Minh City also attended with a booth to promote Expo Milano 2015 which takes place from May 1 to October 31, 2015 in Milan, Italy on the theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. Useful videos and information on Expo 2015 were provided. There was also the presence of ETIHAD ALITALIA, Expo’s official carrier that brings various offers to visit Milan.
26 May 2015, the EU-Vietnam Business Network (EVBN) in co-operation with CCIFV, ICHAM, EUROCHAM, BBGV, DBAV,
BELUXCHAM
organized
the
“SMEs-MNCS
ANNUAL SPEED MEETING” event, sponsored by the ASIA COUNSEL at Sofitel Saigon Plaza, Ho Chi Minh. This event welcomed 17 large corporations, with the participation of 5 Italian companies: ENI, Bonfiglioli, Datalogic, Perfetti and Piaggio.
There was the opportunity to organize meetings
ICHAM President with representatives of 5 Italian companies
between the large multinational corporations (MNCs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from various sectors such as Food & Beverage, Communication and Advertising, Legal, IT, HR and trade.
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NEWS
The World Chambers Congress is organized by the ICC World Chambers Federation. Held every two years in different regions of the world, the Congress is the only international forum for chamber leaders to share best-practice experiences, exchange insights, develop networks, address the latest business issues affecting their communities, and learn about new areas of innovation from chambers around the world. From 10 to 12 June 2015, Torino (Italy) hosted the 9th edition of the Congress, a unique opportunity to bring global business right in the heart of Europe and of the Mediterranean. This exciting event attracted a global community of more than 12,000 chambers of commerce, their leading business members, and influential world leaders. It provided a unique opportunity for interaction between delegates from more than 100 countries. On this occasion, Mr. Pham Hoang Hai - Executive Director of The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (ICHAM) participated in this event.
On 18th June 2015, a business road show about Vietnam and Mexico took place at the headquarters of Bergamo’s Chamber of Commerce. The road show was organized by the Chamber in collaboration with Milan’s Chamber of Commerce (Promos), providing a chance for the regional enterprises to explore business potentials and new investment opportunities offered by the Vietnamese and Mexican markets. The event was attended by the representatives from Vietnam and Mexico including Executive Director of Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Mr Pham Hoang Hai, Executive Director of Italian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, together with Promos, Bergamo’s Chamber of Commerce and regional companies.
NEWS
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On 2 June 2015, the Consulate General of the Republic of Italy in Ho Chi Minh City celebrated Italy’s Republic Day (19462014), attended by representatives from municipal People's Committee and diplomatic missions along with Italian community living and working in the city. Mrs. Carlotta Colli — Italian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City
On behalf of the municipal leadership, HCM City People's Committee Vice Chairman Le Thanh Liem sent greetings to the people of Italy on this important occasion “In recent years, Vietnam-Italy relations have grown steadily in all aspects, especially the two countries celebrated 40 years of diplomatic relations with many cultural exchange activities last year. Bilateral trade and economic cooperation has progressed with two-way trade turnover reaching 3,4 billion USD. So far, Italy has poured 57 million USD in 15 investment projects in HCM City”. Mr. Liem said he hopes that based on good bilateral relations with the goodwill and joint efforts, relations between Vietnam and Italy in general and Ho Chi Minh in particular will grow and flourish.
NEWS
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Continuing last year’s success, ICHAM successfully led the 18th Netplus themed “Mondo Gelato” which attracted over 300 guests from Vietnamese and European companies. Our guests had opportunity to taste the special flavors of artisan Gelato Ice-cream and Italian canapé prepared by Times Square chef while enjoying many interesting activities. In an energetic atmosphere at The Long Bar, the attendees were entertained with a fashion show and traditional dance sponsored by TAS Art & Fashion. “Lucky Draws” was the most exciting part of Netplus when the luckiest guests had their business cards picked up and won valuable prizes from ICHAM sponsors, with the special prizes including 1 return ticket from Etihad Airways and 2 return tickets SGN-BKK-SGK from Jet Aiways.
We wish to express our gratitude to The Long Bar, Time Square - WMC Group for bringing us a rich selection of Italian Gelato Ice-Cream.
We also would like to send our sincere thanks to other sponsors for their precious contribution to the success of the event: Etihad Airways, Jet Airways, TAS, Annam Gourmet Market, Da Loc Wine, Inter Nos Restaurant, Intercontinental Nha Trang, La Hostaria, Park Hyatt Saigon, The Loop, and The Mist.
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NEWS
This year's Vietnam Midterm Business Forum (VBF) was held on June 9 at the Crystal Grand Ballroom at the Lotte Hotel in Hanoi with the participations of Ministers, leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; The Ministry of Planning and Investment; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment ... And representatives of enterprises, organizations in Vietnam. President of ICHAM Michele D’Ercole also participated in this forum.
With the theme “Enhancing Enterprise Competitiveness for Global Integration”, Forum’s topics in focus include: Review of Business Climate; Trade, Tourism and Investment – Issues of implementation of new Laws on Investments, Enterprises, Housing, Real Estate Business; Banking and Capital Markets; Infrastructure – Requirements for PPP implementations, port strengthening and power generation needs in Master Plan VII.
The success of the Forum was highlighted by the presence of Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung.
In his speech, PM Nguyen Tan Dung said that “Vietnam has seen improvements in its eco-social development in the first five months of 2015 compared to the same period last year, but the government is “not satisfied. Vietnam will try to keep inflation below five percent not only in 2015 but also the ensuing years and have 14 free trade agreements and relations with 55 partners, 15 of which are G20 members, this is an important ground to create a favorable business environment”. He also ordered relevant ministries to seriously take these suggestions and recommendations into consideration.
The VBF is an annual dialogue between the Vietnamese Government and the business community with the aim of improving necessary business conditions to boost the development of the enterprises in Vietnam, building a favorable business environment, and contributing to sustainable economic development. The forum has accompanied with the country’s institutional improvements and economic management innovation for nearly two decades, helping the competitiveness of the economy and businesses increase and foreign direct investment attraction become more effective. (Interview of ICHAM President on VTV1 at the forum)
NEWS
"Made in Lecco", an initiative taken by the Chamber of Commerce of Lecco, Lombardy with Lariodesk, was created to evaluate the experiences and skills in the area of Lecco from its manufacturing districts. The idea is to connect different enterprises, enhancing their skills and, thanks to cooperation and synergies, gaining the added value necessary to compete in a more and more complicated market.
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Under the business meeting program about "Eco Smart Land - Lecco Eco Smart City. Toward Expo 2015", the Chamber of Commerce of Lecco in collaboration with Lariodesk organized two days of meetings (17 and 18 June 2015) to explore the business relations with some of the most dynamic countries in Asia.
Companies met with the Executive Director of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Icham) Mr. Pham Hoang Hai, Deputy Executive Director of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in India and the Director of ICE Singapore & the Philippines for further information and personalized interviews.
From 29 June to 1 July 2015, a workshop dedicated to companies of the region Emilia-Romagna in the food technology at Fiere di Parma. The initiative is taken under the project “Vietnam Destination for Emilia-Romagna companies II: Food Factory� (co-financed by the Region and by Chambers of commerce under the project "BRICST Plus 2013-2015", in collaboration with Promec, Special Agency of the Chamber of Commerce of Modena and Unioncamere ICHAM Executive Director Emilia-Romagna) and the project "CIBUS TEC - Processing & Pham Hoang Hai packaging technologies export development 2014", co-funded by the Region of Emilia-Romagna and Fiere di Parma. The regional companies participated in B2B meetings with about 20 representatives from the Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam. The initiative is an opportunity for the Italian manufacturer of Food processing and packaging technologies to do business, especially focused on Asian markets. On this occasion, a delegation of 10 Vietnam buyers led by Executive Director of Icham Pham Hoang Hai had meetings with Italian companies in the region to explore business opportunities and to exchange information about food technology. Further to B2B meetings, the Vietnamese delegation visited the cheese and ham factory in Parma, and the COOP Pavilion in EXPO Milano 2015.
NEWS
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From 6th to 10th July 2015, a delegation of the Marche region, including the representatives of the Port of Ancona and Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, visited Hanoi in the framework of Project "Fast Corridor". This is a very important project to create a new connection between Italy and South-East Asia, in particular with Vietnam, with the purpose of promoting bilateral trade by increasing the amount of containers, reducing the transit times from Vietnam to Italy in particular, to EU in general, and thus effectively promoting economic cooperation. On this occasion, beside meeting with Ambassador Cecilia Piccioni, ICHAM organized a series of meetings between the delegation with institutional representatives of the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the People’s Committee of Hai Phong and business representatives of the two state-owned ports Cai Lan and Dinh Vu.
At the meeting with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), both sides discussed about Italy’s proposal on the new freight route to create a competitive logistic cost for Vietnam’s exported goods. Through a new transportation plan, Vietnam’s export goods to European countries, with the new route crossing Suez Canal, will arrive at the port of Marche in Italy, and from there will be transported to other countries in EU. According to the calculation of the expertise, this route will reduce 6 days of travelling (appro. 3000 miles of sea way) and therefore the costs will be reduced about $150/ container. The meeting contributed to the good relations between the two countries and deepened all aspects of the project. The Deputy Minister appreciated the proposal and requested Italy to provide more details related to the project through the Italian Embassy and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam. On that ground, the MOIT will conduct further study and discuss with relevant ministries of Italy.
NEWS
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Thanks to MISE, Region of Lazio, ICE, the Italian Embassy in Hanoi, Cinematography General Department, Anica, Chamber of Commerce in Roma, the Italian Moviemov was organized from July 21 – 26 in Hanoi. This is the first time Moviemov adds Vietnam to its agenda, and also the first time for an international film festival that converges cinematography and fashion to take place in Vietnam, thanks also to the collaboration of Maison Gattononi. The god mother of this festival was Valeria Solarino, who appeared with Ferzan Ozpetek, Paola Minaccioni Stefano Fresi and Pippo Del Bono. The films were screened for free at CGV Vincom, and Hanoi Cinamatheque. Apart from movies, the festival also brought to the audience a fashion exhibition “The elegance of culinary art: Tales about food and fashion” with the costumes made by Vietnamese and Italian young designers. On this occasion, ICHAM organized a meeting on 22 July between the Italian Senator Goffredo Bettini, member of Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Vietnamese entrepreneurs to discuss the business problems between the two countries in view of the signing FTA. In the next day, ICHAM organized another meeting between the Senator and Mr. Miguel Charneco Garrido, member of Eurocham Executive Committee, with the aim of discussing Eurocham’s role in the signing of FTA. The Chamber also arranged other B2B meetings for the enterprises of both countries in the field of cinema, fashion and cuisine. This was a great opportunity for businesses to meet and discover cooperation opportunities, with the participation of 3 young Italian designers : Gianni De Benedittis, Tiziano Guardini and Italo Marseglia.
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NEWS
In the splendid setting of the Museums Mercati di Traiano, the Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long expressed his greetings to the Consular Corps, authorities and friends before leaving Rome at the end of his term in Italy. During the evening there was fashion show with creations of designers form Vietnam and Maison Gattinoni. They were the presents of Pier Ferdinando Casini, Fabrizio Cicchitto, Guglielmo Epifani, Antonio Razzi, the other authorities, the representatives of the Italian community, ICHAM President Michele D'Ercole and Federico Vasoli. At the meeting, the Ambassador summarized the main activities that occurred during his term and gave thanks to the guests for the active collaboration to achieve these important goals. ICHAM would like to thank the Ambassador for his support to the Chamber and wish him all the best and success for the future.
SOCIAL ACTIVITY
Open your road. Open your heart Ducati gives thanks to ICHAM for outstanding and generous contributions to the children orphanage and school children in Son La village on the 12th April as the most important stop on Ducati travel experience 2015.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
HOMI: Lifestyle&Interior Design Fair Time: 12-15 September 2015 Venue: Milan, Italy For more info: http://www.homimilano.com/en/theshow
EXPO MILANO 2015: EU-ASEAN Days Time: 29-30 September 2015 Venue: Milan, Italy For more info: http://www.eurochamvn.org/node/14836
Lifestyle Trade Mission To Vietnam Time: 27 –30 October 2015 Venue: Hanoi & HCM City For more info: http://evbn.org/event/lifestyle-trademission-to-vietnam/
Green Technologies Trade Mission to Vietnam Time: 24-27 November 2015 Venue: Hanoi For more info: http://evbn.org/event/greentechnologies-seminar/
Welcome to our new members
MEDIA CLIPPING
Vietnam will offer visa exemptions for single-entry visits of up to 15 days for visitors from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and Spain starting this July. In an interview with VTV1 - Vietnam television channel, ICHAM Treasurer Antonio Citati shared some his own opinions about this new policy. Click here to view the full interview
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MARKET INFO
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The Ministry of Planning and Investment has publicised norms for 267 conditional business areas to help enterprises meet requirements under the revised Investment Law which takes effect from July 1. The conditions are classified into 16 sections. They are national security and defence; judiciary; finance; industry and trade; labour, invalids and social affairs; and transport; construction; as well as information and communications. The remaining conditions are education and training; agriculture and rural development; planning and investment; health; science and technology; as well as culture, sports and tourism; natural resources and environment; and banking. Each section has specific conditional business areas and provides the details of the conditions that must be complied with along with the existing regulations.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment has publicised norms for 267 conditional business areas to help enterprises meet requirements under the revised Investment Law which takes effect from July 1.
Business registrations for conditional business areas will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of these sections. Business categories under conditional projects include distribution, logistics, healthcare, education, as well as tobacco production and printing. Detailed conditions for all of these conditional business areas are listed on the national business registration portal at dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn. The Investment Law states that business and investment conditions should be contained in laws, ordinances, decrees, and international treaties in which Vietnam is a signatory. Also, ministries, local authorities, and individuals are not permitted to issue investment and business conditions. Source: Vietnamplus.vn
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MARKET INFO
International organizations forecasted that Viet Nam’s GDP growth in 2015 may reach from 6-6.5% and the nation will become the world’s factory. Thanks to achievements in exports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), overseas remittances and the business environment, foreign organizations released positive evaluations of the Government’s efforts in improving the business environment. Maintaining the macro-economy, controlling inflation, stabilizing exchange rates and increasing belief in Vietnamese Dong have created a firm foundation for development and gained benefits from trading. The World Bank supposed that actively negotiating and signing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) will help Vietnamese businesses expand markets for exports and imports. During his working visit to Vietnam, IMF Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa proposed the nation continue to reform the banking system, State-owned enterprises, stabilizing the macro-economy and sustainable development. Vietnam should improve the business and investment environment, facilitate domestic enterprises' approaches to increase competitiveness, strengthen production capacity and create value-added products to expand markets as well as communicate advantages and disadvantages of the FTA in service of the whole business community and people. Source: VGP News
On 4 August 2015, the EU and Vietnam reached an agreement in principle for a free trade deal. Negotiations for an ambitious and comprehensive FTA were launched in June 2012 with a view to ensuring an effective environment for trade and investment relations. The EU and Vietnam still need to settle remaining technical issues and finalise the legal text. Once finalised, the agreement will need to be approved by the Council and the Parliament. The agreement will contain a legally binding link to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) that governs the overall relationship between the EU and Vietnam. Further information: EU trade relations with Vietnam: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/vietnam/
MARKET INFO
HCMC – Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced that it is currently seeking approval to raise taxes on the country’s key natural resources. The tax raises are intended to act as a tool to increase government revenues and tighten the management of resource mining. Specifically, the MoF wants to revise Resolution 712/2013/UBT-VQH13 on natural resource tax. Some of the products that will see their current tax levels affected by the tax raises include the following: Iron will rise from 12 percent to 15 percent Titanium will rise from 16 percent to 18 percent Gold will rise from 15 percent to 20 percent Nickel will rise from 10 percent to 16 percent Wolfram and antimony will rise from 18 percent to 20 percent Bronze will rise from 13 percent to 18 percent Additionally, other resources, such as coal and sand, will see their taxes raised by around three percent. Precious stones, such as diamonds and rubies, will also see their taxes raised by an estimated five percent. While many of the natural resources will see their tax rates raised, the tax on wood will actually see a decrease, depending on the category. However, precious woods, such as tram huong, will see an increase from their current level of 25 percent to 30 percent.
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The new taxes could have a depressing effect on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country. Current investment levels are lagging behind the previous year already. According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of May 20th, 592 projects had been approved. These projects were worth US$2.95 billion in total registered capital, representing a year on year decrease of 19.4 percent. Since the beginning of January, foreign invested companies have pledged US$4.29 billion for their new and operational projects, representing a 22 percent decline over the previous year. The top four countries with the largest new investments and additional capital pledges into Vietnam are currently: South Korea: US$1.1 billion (25.7 percent) British Virgin Islands: US$663.24 million (15.4 percent) Turkey: US$660.2 million Japan: US$431.7 million FDI into Vietnam has been spread across fourteen business sectors, with the majority of investment flowing into the manufacturing processing industry, followed by the property market, and then the wholesale-retail sector. This article was first published on Vietnam Briefing.
MARKET INFO
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Vietnam’s strategic geographic location, low wages, and beneficial trade deals are set to make the country an increasingly important export destination both in Asia and throughout the world. The HSBC report has highlighted a number of important areas that point to a rosy export future for Vietnam. Chief among these is the country’s close location to some of the fastest growing economies in Asia, such as China, India, and Malaysia. A reason for the optimism about Vietnam is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a US-led trade agreement involving 12 countries. Once implemented, tariffs will be removed on almost US$2 trillion in goods and services exchanged between the signatory countries. Additional trade deals with the EU and other countries, as well as further ASEAN integration, are also set to help boost Vietnam’s economy. As a result of this plethora of trade deals, HSBC confidently predicts a GDP growth rate of more than five percent per year through 2030 for Vietnam. However, HSBC has also highlighted potential risks to Vietnam’s growth, these include possible resistance from the country’s ruling party to structural reforms, setbacks to infrastructure investment, delays to the free trade deals, and possible slower growth in China. Exports HSBC expects that clothing and apparel will also continue to be among the main drivers of Vietnam’s growth – contributing almost 20 percent of the projected export growth through 2030. However, with the large investments by companies such as Samsung, Vietnam has also become an a t t r a c t i v e l o c at i on f o r t h e telecommunications industry – HSBC believes that this will put the country in a prime position to meet increasing demand for consumer goods in Asia.
Imports According to HSBC’s predictions, China and South Korea will remain Vietnam’s largest import partners. Industrial machinery will continue to be Vietnam’s largest import sector through 2030 and will contribute around 25 percent of the country’s import growth. Textiles and wood manufactures will be the next largest import sectors, followed by information and communication technology (ICT) equipment. Source: Vietnam Briefing