The first Vietnam - Singapore Business Forum 2011 is considered an opportunity for Vietnamese and Singaporean companies to meet and establish relations. The three-day event brought together nearly 300 companies of the two nations.
Vietnam and Singapore established diplomatic relations in 1973 and fostered ties in all areas since then, especially after Vietnam joined ASEAN in July 1995. The two nations have become trade and investment partners. The two-way trade turnover reached US$10 billion in 2010, quadrupling the value in 2000. As regards investment, in the first 11 months of 2011, Singapore was the third largest investor with a total investment capital of US$1.58 billion, accounting for 12.5 percent of the total investment capital of foreign investors.
The two countries have made significant contributions to ASEAN’s activities and prospective ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. In particular, Vietnam has put forth many initiatives to boost ASEAN economic and commercial cooperation, including the initiatives to formation of ASEAN Economic Community by 2015 or the initiatives to expand multi-dimensional policymaking dialogues with businesses. Until now, Vietnam is one of most active implementer of measures and initiatives set out in the AEC Construction Master Plan.
Since the Singapore - Vietnam Connectivity Framework Agreement was initiated in 2006, it has been the main platform for strengthening economic cooperation and promoting opportunities of investment and business between two countries. Singaporean investors are now very interested in education, property, infrastructure solution, trade and service in Vietnam.
According to Singaporean investors, Vietnam has a more favourable geographical position than other regional countries, has huge potential for real estate development, and has convenient conditions for goods production and export, especially logistics development. For that reason, despite the volatility of direct investment capital flows from ASEAN nations to Vietnam in the past years, Singapore is always the biggest investor with more projects and greater value year after year.
In the first 11 months of 2011, Singapore had 86 new investment projects with a total registered capital of US$1.581 billion in Vietnam. Singapore is currently the third largest investor in Vietnam, with a total of 973 projects worth US$23.37 billion as of November 2011. “These figures show that Vietnam is a rapidly growing economy and is creating greater opportunities for Singapore companies," said Mr Bobby Liu, Chairman of Singapore Business Association in Vietnam.
Also needless to say, the Singapore - Vietnam Connectivity Framework Agreement is a major platform for strengthening economic cooperation and promoting opportunities of investment and business between two countries. This agreement is successfully facilitating investors to diversify investment projects. When Singaporean businesses entered Vietnam, they focused on urban infrastructure, industrial park development, and export processing zone development but they have now expanded their operations into many other areas like seaport development, health, education, tourism, food processing, and consumer goods production.
This is the reason why Mr Doan Duy Khuong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council in Vietnam (ASEAN BAC), believes that Vietnam will still be a chosen place for Singaporean investors to place their money in first.
However, Vietnam also needs to overcome challenges to improve national competitiveness and enhance the attractiveness of investment and business environment because when Singaporean investors continue considering investing, expanding investment and attracting their partners to invest in Vietnam, they place high expectations on positive changes in the business environment in Vietnam.
Mr Simon Wong Wie Kuen - Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam
Despite global economic uncertainty, the Singaporean private economic sector still wants to contribute to Vietnam’s growth and development. Thanks to its favourable geographical location at the mainland intersection of Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, a young and dynamic population as well as abundant resources, Vietnam will continue to be one of key pillars of Asian economic growth in the coming decades. Besides, in the process of urbanisation, Vietnam can learn from Singapore's experience in quality housing development, urban concentration and transport system.
Mr Raymond Lui, Director of International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore)
Thus far, the Government of Vietnam has made concrete steps to create a transparent business environment for foreign investment. This is a very propitious and important move in the progress of transiting into a market economy. However, Vietnam needs to attract investors with long-term commitments who can contribute to global experience and have stable financial sources. Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang has reiterated Vietnam’s warm welcome to foreign investors when he met with the Singapore business community recently. This has unlocked the door for Singapore companies to consider collaboration with Vietnamese partners. We hope to make Vietnamese companies understand the ability and value that Singaporean companies can bring to them when they do business together.
Mr Phan Thanh Mai, General Secretary of the Vietnam National Real Estate Association
I hope to see a reverse wave of investment from Vietnam. In addition to supporting and coordinating with Singaporean businesses in Vietnam, the Vietnam National Real Estate Association will continue attracting more investment capital from Singaporean enterprises into Vietnam in the near future.
Do Ngoc
Vietnamese
