Dear Members,
2018 has been a historic year for EuroCham, and we wanted to share some of our highlights in this letter.
EuroCham began 2018 with the 10th edition of the Whitebook, launched at a special conference in March. In the Spring, we welcomed the Prime Minister to ‘Meet Europe 2018’, bringing our members face-to-face with high-level national and provincial leaders. The European business community in Vietnam grew larger in June, when EuroCham welcomed its newest national Business Association: the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Portugal-Vietnam (CCIPV). Meanwhile, EuroCham’s provincial Chapters continued to thrive throughout 2018, with events taking place across the Central, Southeastern and Northeastern regions.
In October, we were proud to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister at a conference to celebrate 30 Years of Foreign Direct Investment. Later that month, EuroCham led a delegation to Brussels to advocate for ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade and launch a new report – The EVFTA: Perspectives from Vietnam. EuroCham also spoke at the European Parliament of Enterprises, and at a hearing of the International Trade (INTA) Committee. The following week, we co-organised a joint luncheon with the Prime Minister of Vietnam and business leaders from across Europe.
In September, EuroCham reached another important milestone. Since the Chamber was first established, it has grown from just 60 members in 1998 to over one thousand members today. 2018 also marked EuroCham’s 20th anniversary, and almost 600 guests joined us in November for a special Gala Dinner & Business Awards to celebrate.
None of these achievements would have been possible without the continued support of our members. Your contribution to our Chamber ensures that we are able to tackle the issues affecting European trade and investment. And as our membership continues to grow, so does our voice as the representative of European business in Vietnam. Therefore, on behalf of the EuroCham Executive Committee and its Secretariat, we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you.
Looking ahead to 2019, there is still much for us to do. EuroCham is honoured to have you as a member and looks forward to continuing to work together to make the next year as successful as the last. Please note that the deadline for the settlement of the membership fee is 31st January 2019 – invoices have been sent to you by post (click to view more info about membership renewal timeline )
Please note that payments made after that date will mean that your profile may not be included in the printed EuroCham Membership Directory. This could also affect your voting rights during our next AGM.
We hope that we can continue to merit your support and membership. We look forward to seeing you again soon at our annual Christmas Party, taking place in Hanoi on the 5th of December and in Ho Chi Minh City on the 12th of December.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Nicolas Audier & Denis Brunetti
EuroCham Co-Chairs
