(VEN) – “Despite the global economic uncertainties, Singaporean companies view Vietnam’s economic prospects as promising. Vietnam’s proximity to Singapore, its 46 million strong workforce, fast developing economy, have encouraged our companies to continue to invest in Vietnam,” Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Ng Teck Hean told Vietnam Economic News’ Hoa Le on the occasion of 40 years of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Singapore (1973-2013).
What is your assessment on Vietnam-Singapore relations after 40 years of the diplomatic relations?
Over the past 40 years, Vietnam-Singapore relations have grown from strength to strength. We enjoy strong economic ties, and conduct regular exchanges of high-level visits: President Truong Tan Sang made his first state visit to Singapore in September 2011, while Singapore President Tony Tam Keng Yam made his first state visit to Vietnam in April 2012. Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also visited Singapore in September 2012 and May 2013 respectively. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will visit Vietnam this coming September.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, we will elevate the bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership, which will pave the way for both countries to build on existing cooperation and deepen our collaboration in many more areas such as education, training, finance, as well as defence.
How do you evaluate Singaporean current investment in Vietnam and potential for the country?
Bilateral trade grew four-fold since 2000 to reach S$15.8 billion in 2012, and Singapore is Vietnam’s sixth largest trading partner. As of May 2013, Singapore was Vietnam’s third largest foreign investor, with a cumulative registered capital of US$27.2 billion across more than 1,000 projects in various sectors, such as industrial parks, logistics, real estate, hospitality, financial services, healthcare and retail.
Singaporean companies have a long history of investing and doing business with Vietnam. For example, the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP), a joint venture between Sembcorp and Becamex IDC Corporation which began in 1996, is an icon of our longstanding bilateral economic cooperation. The successes of the first and second industrial parks in Binh Duong have since been replicated in Hai Phong and Bac Ninh, and the 5th VSIP is being developed in Quang Ngai.
Despite the global economic uncertainties, Singaporean companies view Vietnam’s economic prospects as promising. Vietnam’s proximity to Singapore, its 46 million strong workforce, fast developing economy, have encouraged our companies to continue to invest in Vietnam.
What are your expectations regarding the future of Singaporean businesses operating in Vietnam? Which sectors do they want to promote together with their Vietnamese partners?
As Vietnam continues to develop its economy, there will be growing demand for quality products among its burgeoning middle class. Demand for modern services such as finance, logistics, info-communication, telecommunications, education, healthcare, retail, hospitality and tourism services will grow. In addition, Vietnam’s strength in agriculture and fisheries and the government’s commitment to developing this sector could translate into potential partnerships with Singapore in areas such as food sourcing, food manufacturing and food distribution.
Singaporean businesses have already begun to diversify the scope of their economic involvement to leverage on these economic trends. They have started to shift away from their initial focus on real estate and industrial parks, towards the services (e.g. port operations, logistics and healthcare) and manufacturing (e.g. food processing and electronics components) sectors. They have also broadened the geographical spread of their economic involvement, and are exploring opportunities in emerging regions within Vietnam, beyond Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong.
Given their expertise and experience in doing business in the region, Singaporean companies could help add value and contribute positively to the growth of Vietnam’s economy. Potential synergies could also arise from collaboration between Vietnamese firms and Singaporean companies, which are experienced in international trade, branding and selling to overseas markets. In this regard, Vietnam can leverage on Singapore’s geographical position as a major trade and finance hub to grow its trade and services sector. For example, Singaporean companies can contribute to the upstream areas of food safety, quality management and R&D, and the downstream areas of supply chain, retail and distribution.
Singapore and Vietnam are expected to formally launch their strategic partnership during PM Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to Vietnam this coming September. How should we assess the meaning of this event for Vietnam-Singapore relations?
The Strategic Partnership Agreement should be seen as a milestone in Vietnam-Singapore relations that will consolidate the achievements from the past 40 years of bilateral cooperation. More importantly, it will establish the direction for our close relationship moving forward, and represents a commitment to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, especially in key sectors such as finance, information and communications technology, education and training, investment, transportation, as well as trade and services. The Strategic Partnership Agreement will also reinforce our good cooperation in multilateral for a such as ASEAN and APEC, and also expand our bilateral cooperation in the areas of governance, defence, health, arts and culture, and sports.
Could you tell us about Singaporean Embassy’s programs to promote relations between business communities of the two countries during the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the future?
The recent economic exchanges between our countries have taken place under the Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Framework Agreement. Signed in 2005, it is a landmark agreement that accords high-level political attention to promoting cooperation in six sectors, including education and training, finance, investment, information technology and telecommunications, trade and services, and transportation.
The Singapore Business Federation and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ho Chi Minh City organized the Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum this April to promote the exchange of views and the building of networks among our business leaders.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also met with Singaporean businessmen during his visit to Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue in May this year. We will continue to promote and facilitate such business networking activities between both countries./.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
