Singapore's Prime Minister Lee on four-day visit to Vietnam

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• Singapore’s CapitaLand to invest $500 million in commercial property in Vietnam: report

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong started an official four-day visit to Vietnam on Tuesday.

Lee first visited Ho Chi Minh City, where he met with the city’s People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong. During their meeting, Phong urged Singapore to help Vietnam develop clean industrial food processing zones, operate future metro lines and support human resources training. Singapore is the city's top foreign investor, with investments of $10.2 billion, largely in the real estate sector.

Singapore is also Vietnam's second-largest foreign investor, with registered investment of $1.6 billion in 2016. Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $19.8 billion last year.

Relations between the two countries were upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2013, opening up new avenues of cooperation in areas such as defense, education and finance. The strategic partnership agreement was concluded during PM Lee's last official visit to Vietnam in September 2013.

On Wednesday afternoon, PM Lee will leave for Hanoi, where he will meet Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Tran Dai Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

PM Lee will finish his trip with a visit to the central city of Da Nang.

On this second visit, PM Lee is accompanied by his wife and senior officials from the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Related news:

> Vietnam’s FDI disbursements edge up 3 pct y/y to $1.55 bln in Jan-Feb

> Vietnam plans big push to catch up with Singapore, Thailand

> Singapore’s CapitaLand to invest $500 million in commercial property in Vietnam: report