The first SVCC - Swiss Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce - Vietnam Roundtable took place on the 15th of May 2009 in St. Gallen at the premises of Neff's Attorney at law. Twenty guests have attended the roundtable and which was concluded with a networking apero.

The introduction speech was given by the president of the SVCC Ms. Le Nhi Schmidli-Lu. Le Nhi underlined the purpose and intention of such roundtables and the planned future activities of the SVCC. In particular the intention of good networking and cooperation with other organizations, the newsletter of the SVCC and conveying of projects for Swiss companies in Vietnam were mentioned. Le Nhi introduced Ms. Le Hoa Lung, who came from Vietnam and who runs her own production in Ho Chi Minh City, as well the two representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy in Berne Minister Pham Van Hanh and Attaché Nguyen Dung.

Minister Pham Van Hanh in the following presented his speech about the current development in Vietnam and pointed out the current economic situation. Specifically he said that the high grow rate of Vietnam of the last years has drastically changed and that the predicted grow rate of the Vietnamese economy is about 3% for the first quarter of 2009. Although the sharp decline of the GDP the present level is at still high level compared to other economies. Minister Pham Van Hanh did elaborate on the Vietnamese government's intentions to further develop Vietnam's economy and he was positive that Vietnam's economy will experience a sharp increase within the second half of 2009. Minister Pham Van Hanh further underlined the long relations between Vietnam and Switzerland and the ongoing discussions between the two governments. Minister Pham Van Hanh and Attaché Nguyen Dung thanked for the chance to attend this first roundtable in St. Gallen.

Mr. Andreas Ragaz of FinanceContact introduced the SECO Start Up Fund, a financing tool of the Swiss government, and that was previously managed by the former SOFI. The fund is addressed to Swiss SMEs and which are seeking project finance in designated locations (East Europe, Mid/South Americas, Africa and Asia). Vietnam is one of the designated countries for the fund and currently the fund supports a new project for the recycling of toner/ink cartridges in Vietnam. Whilst Mr. Ragaz underlined the strict criteria for the approval of projects he referenced some successful projects that have been supported in the past. The fund is bound to several requirements, which details can be drawn from http://www.secostartupfund.ch/cms/index.php?lang=german

Dr. oec. Schmidli of Proftech International GmbH with its office in Hanoi gave a speech about Projects and Opportunities in Vietnam. He presented his experience of supporting companies in Vietnam when it melted down to making first contacts, type of market-entry and developing business leads. He then showed some sources of business opportunities and how to find actual projects.

This first roundtable was concluded after about two hours with a networking apero (Vietnamese style). The next roundtable is scheduled to take place on the 19th of June 2009 in Geneva. A roundtable that is supported by the chamber of commerce in Geneva and in where several case studies of successful market entries of Swiss firms to Vietnam will be presented.

A great thanks goes to Dr. jur. Markus Neff and his office that supported this event.

Hanoi, 22nd of May 2009

Dr. oec. Christian Schmidli