WHAT WE DO

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As an established chamber of over 10 years standing, AusCham, HCMC is proud of its status within the business and social community in Vietnam.  Our aim is to form bridges between Australia and Vietnam and to enhance the mutually beneficial relationships between our members and between the cultures and communities of these two nations. Our chamber has three key focuses: business activities, community initiatives, and member services.

Business Activities

AusCham Vietnam hosts a wide range of business activities to ensure members receive the very best of support. To keep you up to date with the latest business issues and to meet other members of the Chamber, we hold monthly Business Essentials Seminars and networking events.

Our annual Australian Business Awards (ABA) are a prestigious acknowledgement of the success of Australian business and individuals in Vietnam. For details on this year’s events and applications, please visit www.auschamvn.org.

Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Events

AusCham Australian Business Awards 2008
Recognising Excellence

The Australian Business Awards (ABA) is a prestigious event through which AusCham recognises the success of Australian and Vietnamese businesses that have made outstanding contributions to business development in Vietnam. The sixth annual business awards were held on November 8 at the Park Hyatt Saigon and were generously supported by a team of sponsors.

AusCham HCMC Chairman, Mr. Glen Reinsch summarised the significance of the awards by saying that, “Australian businesses in Vietnam are an essential part in developing the relationship and bond between our two countries. It is important we recognise those who have made outstanding contributions; not only in their field, but to this country’s growing economy, therefore helping secure a future for Australian business and industry here in Vietnam.”

This year’s AusCham Young Starter’s Grant received a record number of applications. The grant, which has been running for 4 years, is an initiative which contributes to the local community through the support and development of a young Vietnamese entrepreneur with a US$5,000 grant to help realise his or her business dream. An independent judging panel made up of key business people from HCMC awarded this year’s prize to Nguyen Thuy Tinh Ca, a former RMIT student.

Congratulations to Ca for her “Lovella One Stop Shop” project, which was selected from 14 semi-finalists. One of Ca’s long-standing passions is to work with children and this was her source of inspiration for the Lovella idea, which is to create a ‘one stop shop’ hair salon for children from 3-12 years of age. The salon will specialise exclusively in children’s haircuts and hair care products, as well as creating a unique, fun and educational environment where children can play, feel safe and enjoy a sense of community. This was a well-researched, innovative and entrepreneurial proposal and AusCham was proud to award the grant to a young entrepreneur taking a bright and enthusiastic approach in a growing market.

Other major winners from the event included RMIT University for the ANZ Best Overall Business Award, MMSoft for the OUT-2 Design Best Small and Medium Business Award, Trussrite for the Austrade Best Import/Export Award, HSBC for the GHD Best Environmental Excellence Award and OUT-2 Design for the RMIT Best Employer Award.


AusCham Charity Ball 2008 – Ho Chi Minh City

Seven hundred guests attended the 2008 AusCham Annual Ball, which was held on Saturday 20th September. Responding to this year’s theme of “Aussie Oscars”, they filled the White Palace venue with colorful fancy dress costumes inspired by Australian movies such as Rabbit Proof Fence or Muriel’s Wedding.

This gala event is a highpoint of the HCMC social calendar, and this year continued the spirit with an array of entertainment, auction highlights and superb 5-course dining brought to us by international chef, Craig Hicks. The crowd favorite, however, was Muriel of Oz, a production choreographed by DanCenter, in which a brilliant cast of over 70 Vietnamese and expatriates took to the stage.


Australian Consul General to Vietnam, Mr Graeme Swift, who had just commenced his posting in HCMC, commented on the event: “I was delighted to attend the 2008 AusCham Ball on Saturday night. It was a great event organised by AusCham and supported by the Australian business community and others based in HCMC. I look forward to getting to know the Australian community over my term in HCMC and look forward to next year’s ball."


Gala Dinner 2008 - Hanoi

AusCham Hanoi celebrated the ten-year anniversary of The Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam with their Anniversary Gala Dinner held at the Sofitel Plaza, Hanoi on Friday 7th November.

Over 150 guests enjoyed the live entertainment and auction of prizes kindly donated by many local businesses and AusCham Hanoi would like to thank the generosity of main sponsors such as Allens Arthur Robinson, Paradise Cruise, Savills, The University of Queensland, Mai Chau Lodge and Sofitel Plaza Hanoi. Support for the event came from as far away as Australia itself, with the winegrower, Taltarni supplying Australian wine through our local Hanoi cellar, Red Apron.


Australia Day 2008 – Ho Chi Minh City

The theme “Going Green” not only gave color to this year’s Australia Day in HCMC, but also helped raise awareness about environmental issues in Vietnam. All event-related items such as tickets, wine glasses and show-bags were made of eco-friendly materials, and all guests were encouraged to reduce, reuse and recycle all throughout the day.

A great Aussie atmosphere marks the Australia Day event in HCMC, and each year thousands of guests from all backgrounds—Vietnamese, Australians, other expatriates and even tourists—join in this fun, family-orientated celebration.

Live music from local and Australian bands, a range of children’s activities, fashion shows and almost non-stop performances meant that there was plenty to keep people entertained all day long. Guests tasted the best of Australian popular culture, with backyard cricket and out-back style BBQs accompanied by ice-cold beers that went down well in the tropical heat.
PHOTOS

Big Day Out 2008 - Hanoi

This year’s Big Day Out event in Hanoi was bigger and better than ever before with 2000 people attending. Many popular food, wine and beer vendors were back again by popular demand, was The Vine Fine Dining Tent and The Aussie Rules Team from Hanoi, who ran a mini AFL clinic for kids. Other entertainment included a jumping castle, face-painting and a tug-of-war and for the adults, fashion parades and live music that kept people dancing into the night.



AUSCHAM VIETNAM CHARITABLE PROGRAM

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Community Initiatives: Supporting the community in which we live and work

Objectives:

•    To fund sustainable (where appropriate) charitable projects that aim to alleviate poverty, raise living standards, create opportunities or provide crisis relief in affected communities.

•    To add value to our members’ corporate charitable programmes by assisting in identifying local partners and charitable projects compatible with the objectives of such programmes.

AusCham HCMC has raised over USD 40,000 in charitable funds annually through the enthusiastic efforts and generosity of the many sponsors, volunteers and guests attending events such as the AusCham Charity Ball and Big Day Out.

2008-2009 Program

LVAP:  Contributing towards a school bus for Sunrise School II

Sunrise School II supports intellectually disabled children through education and vocational training and works in partnership with the Education Department of Tan Phu District.

AusCham’s contribution to the acquisition of school bus will benefit students and teachers at both Sunrise School I and Sunrise School II in providing safe and reliable transportation, will facilitate collaboration between the two campuses and will increase opportunities for both teachers and students to participate in excursions and other activities in HCMC.

Birthing Kits Foundation (Australia)  (BKFA)  “Community Development Programme—Southern Vietnam”

BKFA’s 5-day course educates village nurses / traditional birth attendants in the use of birthing kits, general midwifery, hygiene, nutrition and health training.  Attendees receive educational booklets written in Vietnamese. BKFA works with local provincial health authorities to target the most needy communes and co-ordinates the training programme.

BKFA has been working in partnership with NGO, The Centre for Ecologically Sustainable Agriculture (CENESA) for 3 years. It has delivered this programme in Hanoi and some northern provinces and wishes to extend the geographical scope of the programme to southern Vietnam through the support of AusCham.

Saigon Children’s Charity (SCC)  “Working With Others" 

"Working With Others" has been developed by SCC to help disabled children build a better life though education and rehabilitation. The programme works with small-scale local Vietnamese organisations running projects that create or strengthen educational opportunities for disabled children. These specialist organisations apply to “Working with Others” for small-scale funding or project advice.

Looking ahead to 2009, AusCham is committed to supporting a range of NGO and charitable organisations actively making a difference in the communities they support.