[27 May 2023] Today’s afternoon, fifty future leaders of Agribank Vietnam, who came from different provinces of Vietnam, have enjoyed the productive and engaging session of team building exercises delivered by Dr. Huyen Vuong, the VASEA representative. These future leaders had just completed a three-month executive training in Melbourne, Australia organised by TransGlobal Education and Training (TET). TET was led by Ms. Jane Tran, who is also Vice President of VASEA.

The session included two team building games named “Get Through a Radioactive Field” and “Guidance to the Blind”. After each game, there were debriefings where the participants discussed what they had learnt. The feedback from Agribank young potential leaders was positive as they highlighted trust and respect as crucial behaviours for building high-performing teams. They also recognised the emergence of leadership roles during the teamwork and appreciated the common skills of brainstorming, problem-solving, cooperation and team communication.

One aspect that impressed the participants most during the three-month training was the kindness and patience of the Australian facilitators. The facilitators took time to explain the concepts thoroughly, going back and forth until everyone understood the issues. This approach was highly appreciated by the young potential leaders.

Additionally, many of the participants mentioned they would miss Melbourne’s weather, which offers fresh air, street music and the unique experience of riding trams. Overall, it seems like the final session provided valuable insights and left Agribank young potential leaders with positive memories of their time in Melbourne, Australia.  

[22 May 2023] Representatives of VASEA attended a conference in consultation with industry experts on developing policies to attract and promote foreign currency remittance resources organised by the Committee of Overseas Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City in coordination with the State Bank – Ho Chi Minh City Branch. Mr. Bui Viet Khoi, science and technology counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Canberra, Australia, attended the conference.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank – Ho Chi Minh City Branch revealed that in the past 5 years, remittances transferred to Ho Chi Minh City accounted for a high proportion compared to the whole country. In 2018, remittances to Ho Chi Minh City were 4.7 billion USD; in 2019 were 5.5 billion USD; 2020 were 6.1 billion USD. Particularly, 2021 reached the highest level, up to 7.1 billion USD (up 16%). In 2022, Ho Chi Minh City is still the leading locality in remittances with USD 6.6 billion and in the first quarter of 2023. The amount of remittances to the city continues to grow positively with nearly USD 2.2 billion, up from USD 2.2 billion. 19.41% over the same period in 2022. In addition to the mechanisms and policies to attract remittances of the State Bank of Vietnam, the role and position of the city as a major economic centre of the country have a major impact of attracting remittances.

At the conference, Mr. Bui Viet Khoi said that Australia has approximately 350,000 Vietnamese-background Australians, most of whom are qualified and have relatively high incomes compared to the common ground. Therefore, it is very important to attract remittances from developed countries, including Australia. Overseas Vietnamese wants idle financial resources to be invested and have the highest efficiency; they can buy a house in Vietnam conveniently; and they want to invest in domestic production and business projects.

Dr. Nhan Le, Senior Lecturer, financial expert at the Australian National University (ANU) has contributed three solutions:

Firstly, increasing the quantity and quality of high-skilled labour

In order to attract remittances, it is necessary to increase the export of labour, especially high-skilled workers such as health care and information technology sectors in the manner of increasing the number of trees planted to develop forests. Currently, the quality of Vietnamese skilled workers in Australia is evaluated as the second-best after Indians due to their lower English proficiency. If the government can support English training for this force, this is a source of remittances with a high coefficient. In addition, it is recommended to create a separate fund to support labour export companies, and, at the same time, use social networks to exchange official information to this workforce.

Secondly, remittance transfer method

Previously, remittances were transferred through intermediaries such as Western Union… Currently, remittances can be transferred directly from an individual’s account in Australia to Vietnam and the transfer fee is lower. However, currently, finding information from commercial banks about this direct money transfer through the bank’s website is very difficult—almost none. Therefore, commercial banks should develop specific guidelines or information.

Thirdly, how to use remittances

Remittances sent to Vietnam usually go to the following 3 purposes: family spending, savings and investment. There should be a support fund for expatriates sending remittances, for example to reduce remittance costs. In addition, there is a referral programme for expatriates to open an account with this bank and have a favourable interest rate, for example in the first month or within the next 3 or 6 months. Doing so will reduce the chances of withdrawing money home to buy gold. Regarding investment purposes, there should be policies to encourage domestic investment in the form of FDI for expatriates.

The conference also listened to comments from representatives of the Vietnamese Association in Fukuoka Japan, the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Association in the USA, etc.

[15 May 23] Melbourne-based VASEA team led by Vice President Jane Tran met several delegations from tourism industry in both Vietnam and Australia at the Roadshow – Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Tourism in Australia organised at the Crown Promenade Conference Hall in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria on today 15 May 2023.

At the conference, VASEA team has discussed with Director of Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Department, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa and Deputy Ambassador of Embassy of Vietnam in Canberra, Mr. Tran Le Phuong the future cooperation as well the prospective of promoting the brand “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” in a series of events for both B2B and B2C audience and in alignment with the Australia – Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy between two Governments.

VASEA Team also had a chance to meet Vice President of Melbourne Airport Airline Business Development, Mr. Peppy Adi-Purnomo to preliminarily discuss cooperative opportunities to organise the study tours for aviation professionals in Vietnam.

[09 May 23] The year 2023 will sight a series of activities for celebrating 50 years establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Australia. Within the framework of the Australia – Vietnam Economic Enhancement (AVEG) program sponsored by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the seminar “Promoting economic ties between Vietnam and Australia” was organized by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Consulate General of Vietnam in Sydney to promote bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation between the two countries. The event was attended by approximately 80 delegates, including the New South Wales Chief Trade and Investment Representative, the Chairman of the Australian Export Council Committee, and the leadership of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) together with more than 30 delegates and leaders of Bac Lieu and Ha Nam provinces.

In the Opening Meeting, Professor Glen Wightwick, Vice-Chancellor of UTS expressed thanks to DFAT for supporting the event through the AVEG programme. He also reiterated UTS’s commitment to international education, innovation and focus on science and technology. Prof. Wightwick particularly thanked Vietnamese students and partners for their contribution to research and teaching innovation at UTS. UTS currently operates two joint research centres in Vietnam. Afterwards, Mr. Nguyen Dang Thang, Consul General of Vietnam in Sydney, highlighted the recent successes in bilateral relations between Vietnam and Australia in areas of trade cooperation, cultural exchange and regional security.