EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HANOI

December 20, 2005

Dear AmCham members:

The year 2005 is drawing to a close. This was a special year in which we celebrated many things, including the tenth anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States. The economic and commercial relationship between our two countries has continued to flourish, as the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) continues to bring major benefits to both countries. Two-way trade will exceed $7.5 billion this year. Vietnam’s exports to the United States will exceed $6.5 billion, while U.S. exports will be between $1.1 and $1.2 billion.

Without question, the visit of Prime Minister Phan Van Khai to Washington was the highlight of the bilateral relationship this year. His meeting with President Bush underscored the increasing capacity of our relationship. U.S. investment in Vietnam is accelerating. Three U.S. insurance firms received licenses this year to provide either life or non-life policies. We concluded a provisional maritime agreement in December. All of these steps augur well for U.S. companies’ prospects for doing business in Vietnam next year.

Vietnam’s progress in fulfilling its numerous commitments to the BTA and in realizing economic, trade and legal reforms has been impressive, although there are some areas that require more attention. We hope that Vietnam will fully implement all of its commitments in a timely fashion in the coming year. My Country Team and I will continue to work with our Vietnamese colleagues on Vietnam’s efforts to accede to the World Trade Organization and to expand our bilateral economic relationship to the maximum extent possible.

Over the past year, the U.S. Vietnam Mission hosted a number of U.S. Government visits aimed at increasing our bilateral economic relationship. These included four visits by officials from the Trade Development Agency, two by Eximbank officials and one by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. In addition, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick came to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Robert Sampson became the highest-ranking Commerce Department official to visit Vietnam in five years. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt was the first cabinet level official to come to Vietnam in five years. Assistant United States Trade Representative Barbara Weisel came in the fall. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Official Michael Michalak has already been twice to Hanoi. We expect him to be here frequently over the next 12 months.

Next year will be another special year for Vietnam as it assumes the leadership of APEC. We look forward to continuing to work closely with all of you in the coming year as we prepare for the APEC Leaders Meeting in November and the visit of President Bush.

Best wishes for success and prosperity in 2006.

Sincerely,

Michael W. Marine

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has created a new Small Business Center as a new resource designed to improve the agency's capacity to support investment by US small businesses in emerging markets. For American small businesses investing in Vietnam, the Small Business Center offers financing and risk mitigation products to joint ventures or mixed capital projects in a variety of sectors including franchising, housing, agriculture and more. Loan amounts for overseas investments range from $100,000 to $10 million with terms from 3-15 years. OPIC also has a Capital Markets Programs that addresses the difficulty many investors face in trying to expand their operations into emerging markets – inadequate funding and limited access to capital. This program can facilitate foreign direct investment in Vietnam by enabling project sponsors to access previously unattainable long-term, low cost funds in US capital markets. AmCham has invited the manager of these programs to answer your questions and help you see if OPIC programs can help your business. Join us at this lunch event on June 26 and please note that this presentation is a bit longer than usual, so the event will begin at 11:30am. Click HERE to download the event flyer for this upcoming lunch event.