Vietnam and Singapore look to more mutual investment opportunities: forum

Vietnam and Singapore are looking forward to creating more business and investment opportunities,  a conference in Sinapore heard on Thursday.

The Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum 2018 was attended by over 700 delegates, including Vietnam’s PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is in Singapore on an official visit.

PM Phuc said Vietnam’s business environment is becoming increasingly more attractive to investors from Singapore, citing how Singapore has poured more than $43 billion into Vietnam with nearly two thousand projects, and how Vietnam has invested $235 million into Singapore with 93 projects, ever since the two nations established a strategic partnership five years ago.

Talking about how Vietnam currently has about 52 million Internet users, accounting for 54 percent of the population and how the number of internet users in the country ranks 5th in Asia-Pacific, PM Phuc said Vietnam’s rising technological literacy presents an opportunity for investors to introduce their products and services in the country. The PM also said that the government is also striving to create a business environment conducive for startups and investors, and welcomes cooperation and investment from Singaporean partners.

Vietnam is one of the most attractive markets in ASEAN, said Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s Minister of National Development, during the conference.

“Many Singaporeans want to go to Vietnam to do business,” Wong said.

Douglas Foo, chairman of Singapore’s Manufacturing Federation, said Vietnam is becoming a prime destination for Asian manufacturers, and Singapore is no exception.

Foo also said that he hoped PM Phuc and the Vietnamese government will continue to support current and future Singaporean investment projects.

During the conference, Vietnam and Singapore signed 16 memoranda of understanding.

Last year, trade turnover between Vietnam and Singapore reached $8.3 billion.