A graduate of two respected universities in Vietnam, Hanoi University and National Economics University, Ann Huynh, 40, runs S3i Inc., a consultancy firm for import, export and investment that connects Vietnamese and US enterprises.

She is the only Vietnamese-American on the executive board of the Asian American Business Association of San Antonio (AAACC - Texas), and was the youngest Vietnamese member of the executive board of the San Antonio Council for International Visitors (SACIV). 

She is the only Asian member of the PCA Residential Management Board in Alexandria, Virginia, in the US, where she now lives with her family.

Ann Huynh returned to Vietnam recently to attend Industry 4.0 Summit 2023 organized by the Party Central Economics Committee with the participation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. VietNamNet interviewed her on this occasion.

I have heard that your S3i company in the US has become the partner that connects many Vietnamese and American enterprises to help them access each other’s markets. What brought you to this job?

Previously, when I was in Vietnam, I worked in the field of investment consultancy, providing services in legal and administrative procedures to foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) and helping FIEs seek opportunities in the Vietnamese market.

Later, when I worked for the US Embassy in Vietnam, I began focusing on activities promoting economic and trade activities between the US and Vietnam.

When an economic group in Vietnam wanted to make an investment and set up a factory in the US, I helped them attend the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) conference in the US – SelectUSA organized by the US Department of Commerce.

At that time, the group exported products in large quantities to the US, but it often faced anti-dumping investigations. It decided to invest in the US under the FDI form to avoid risks in export. Regrettably, the group later changed its strategy and canceled its outward investment plan.

However, while the group decided to stop, I decided to proceed. I set up S3i in Texas in 2018, starting my business after a period of working for the US government and multinationals.

Could you please tell us about the role of the consultancy service which you provide, and its importance to businesses?

Vietnamese enterprises that want to do business in the US and American enterprises that want to do business in Vietnam have to learn about the market, investment procedures, laws, and culture of the host countries. They need advice from a consultancy firm which understands both countries and which can give useful advice.

S3i is positioned as a company that gives advice, and connects Vietnamese and American businesses in trade and investment. My biggest wish is helping Vietnamese enterprises come closer to the US market.

In 2019, we helped Amazon work with Vietrade and the Vietnamese Consulate in Houston to organize a conference on e-commerce in HCM City. After that, we arranged a trip for Vietnamese enterprises to come to Texas to visit Amazon’s warehouse. Many Vietnamese businesses on the e-commerce website have succeeded.

What has S3i done for Vietnam’s enterprises?

S3i’s main functions are giving consultancy, and promoting business and investment between the US and ASEAN, with focus on Vietnam and the mission ‘Unlock global potential’.

It gives support to Vietnamese and American small and medium enterprises in three major things – surveying the market and building market approach strategy; supporting business development; and helping increase the presence of businesses in the markets. 

Organizing production is not difficult work, and transporting goods from the US to Vietnam, or from Vietnam to the US, is also not difficult work. The most difficult thing is selling products and selling in the long term in a sustainable way.

We give comprehensive consultancy and optimal support, including legal issues, office leasing, tax declarations, and registration for brand protection. To date, we have helped register 300 Vietnamese brands in the US.

During the consultancy process, we have realized that Vietnamese enterprises are burning to sell products. Therefore, S3i Inc. cooperates with distribution companies in many fields. When products from Vietnam arrive, we will bring them into the companies’ showroom systems.

So, the producers in Vietnam don’t have to make investment, but they still have representatives in the US, Canada and Europe through the cooperation model with S3i and the companies of the same system.

To be continued...

Tuan Nguyen