Ho Chi Minh City, 2nd July, 2024
Dear Members, Partners and Friends of the GBA,
As we conclude the first half of 2024, I am excited and honored to see our community active, engaging, and innovative. Based on your commitment and input, we, as the German Business Association (GBA), are empowered to celebrate members’ highlights, drive new formats, and foster partnerships.
We celebrated our corporate partners’ expansion with the factory opening of Ziehl-Abegg in Dong Nai news>>> and the office inauguration of the law firm Graf von Westphalen in Ho Chi Minh City news>>>. These highlights underline the attractiveness of Vietnam for German investments. Nevertheless, we keep receiving mixed messages from our members regarding the current economic development of Vietnam, as growth remains slow in many sectors and businesses are acting cautiously on their expansion plans.
We also observe rising competition from neighboring countries, attracting FDI activities in ASEAN. On the other hand, we also experience positive signals as other sectors, such as tourism, are back in full swing, contributing to Vietnam’s development. We, as the GBA, remain in close contact with our community to identify current trends and areas for improvement and communicate them to our partners, aiming to support our members in their business activities and growth in Vietnam.
• Networking and Events: Within the first six months of 2024, we can look back at successful community activities, ranging from business, sports, social, and cultural events – extending our activity level from 20 in the first half of 2023 to 40 in this year’s first half. With our first Family Day, we attracted almost 200 guests news>>> and the fourth season of the GBA Badminton Tournament unfolded with great fanfare with 250 enthusiastic participants news>>>. We celebrated together the success of the German team during the Fanmeile Euro Cup in the Deutsche Haus Ho Chi Minh City with 300 members and friends news>>>. Additionally, we conducted a record number of member-for-member workshops, covering a variety of areas from marketing to legal to HR news>>>.
Meanwhile, we keep the frequency of our regular business and networking events with high-level speakers and strong attendance. As we committed in our 2024 strategy to expand the activity level in North Vietnam, I am proud of our first business luncheon successfully organized with strong support from the German Embassy and GIZ in Hanoi news>>> and our excursion with Qatar Airways, exploring their catering services at Noi Bai Airport news>>>.
• Advocacy and Representation: The GBA continues its efforts in advocating for the interests of German-related businesses in Vietnam, including policy dialogues and consultations with the government. We warmly welcomed Mr. Peter Kompalla, Chief Representative of AHK Vietnam, this April, following Marko Walde in fostering German-Vietnamese business relations. In line with our focus on expanding partnerships, we signed an MOU with the Swiss Business Association, allowing our members to benefit from each other’s events and bringing our two communities closer together news>>>.
Furthermore, together with the AHK Vietnam, we organized our first international joint delegation to Cambodia from 9th to 11th May, which saw strong attendance news>>>. As companies increasingly use Vietnam as a platform for regional sales and sourcing activities, we offered our members this format to regionalize their business out of Vietnam. Our collaboration with the German Embassy remains a crucial pillar in our advocacy activities, and we received strong support from H.E. Dr. Hildner, the German Ambassador to Vietnam, over the past years. June marked his farewell during the 75th Anniversary of the German Basic Law in Vietnam as he enters retirement, and we celebrated this milestone in his career with strong board attendance on 7th June in Hanoi news>>>.
• Communication and Member Engagement: To maximize your benefits as members, we launched new initiatives. With our Zalo “GBA Konnect” platform, you can promote your services and highlights to the GBA community. After two months, we achieved 400 sign-ups, and we are committed to growing the platform further. With the full implementation of “GlueUp,” we streamlined our event registration, payment, and communication system for you. As we aim to improve further, we also launched our “Coffee Talk” series, where our board caretakers invite you for an open exchange, allowing us to receive your feedback regularly and identify areas for continuous improvement news>>>.
• Event Highlights: Looking ahead to the second half of 2024, I want to draw your attention to several highlights related to your membership as we organize newly designed and existing signature events. First, let me highlight our legendary GBA Oktoberfest, which will take place from 26th to 28th September in Hanoi, on 4th October in Danang, and from 10th to 12th October in HCMC. Tickets are available from 5th July.
We have also reinstated the GBA Business Awards, offering you the chance to win in up to five categories and opening a route to the EuroCham Business Awards. During our gala event on 29th August, we will celebrate the finalists and share our success with the community. We encourage you to explore our sponsorship packages for Oktoberfest and the Business Awards, offering benefits like exclusive access and brand promotion. Meanwhile, we continue to improve our regular events and will offer you high-quality content and locations throughout the year.
• 2025 Anniversary Celebrations: Together with the German diplomatic corps and other German institutions, the GBA will participate in the 50th anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Germany and Vietnam, representing the contributions of our community over the last decades. With the 30th anniversary of the GBA, we will organize communication channels and events to celebrate three successful decades of the GBA in Vietnam. Our office team and board are already in preparation, and we will share opportunities for you to join the festive year along the way.
The first half of 2024 provides strong evidence of the vital community and impact of the GBA for its members. With the ambitious plans ahead, the entire GBA board and office team believe in the positive membership experience we will generate for you over the next quarters. Therefore, we appreciate your trust and support in the GBA and us, as we look forward to collaborating with you.
I personally want to thank our office team for their hard work in executing our strategy, the board members for their outstanding engagement, and our corporate partners for their additional commitment. Furthermore, I wish H.E. Dr. Hildner a wonderful start to his retirement and would like to underline the appreciation of the entire GBA for his support. Lastly, with the summer holidays ahead, I wish everyone a good and safe travel season.
Sincerely Yours,
Alexander Ziehe
Chairman of the Board
German Business Association (GBA)
(Click here>>> for the official letter)