The Vietnamese Government is willing to listen to opinions from Singaporean businesses and wishes they would do long-term business in the country, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (standing) at the reception for a delegation
of 36 Singaporean businesses on July 15 (Photo: VNA)

Receiving a delegation of 36 Singaporean businesses in Hanoi on July 15, PM Phuc spoke highly of Singaporean firms’ business in Vietnam during January-June despite the global economy’s turbulences.

The Vietnamese Government has made efforts to keep political and macro-economic stability, create transparent legal institutions in accordance with international commitments and laws, he said.

He laid stress on the country’s push for regional and international integration with the formation of various economic and trade cooperation frameworks like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Vietnam has consistently pursued an economic integration policy with the focus placed on international economic integration, which means Singaporean enterprises will have opportunities to reach a large number of markets that Vietnam has set up partnership with, he highlighted.

He took the occasion to thank the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Enterprise Singapore (ESG) for organising the Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum in April, helping develop bilateral economic cooperation into a more practical manner.

He said he witnessed the signing of cooperative documents worth some 10 billion USD at the forum.

SBF Chairman Teo Siong Seng, for his part, expressed his delight to lead the Singaporean firms to visit Vietnam and seek investment opportunities. He said the Singaporean firms will continue their contributions to the robust economic growth in Vietnam while tightening the bilateral collaboration. 

Meanwhile, a representative from ESG thanked the Vietnamese Government and competent agencies and authorities for supporting Singaporean businesses in the past time, hoping to promote cooperation with Vietnam in the fields of smart urban area development, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and startup and innovation.

Welcoming the recommendations, PM Phuc said that Singaporean firms have many investment opportunities in Vietnam thanks to the sound strategic partnership between the two nations, as well as good mechanisms to connect the two economies in the past 14 years with the Vietnam-Singapore industrial park described as a standout cooperation model.

He expressed his hope that the Singaporean firms will expand investment in the fields of their strengths like infrastructure development, logistics, finance & banking, IT, electronics, education, healthcare, tourism, maritime industry, and equitization of state-owned companies, among others.

Airport investment is attractive, especially as the Vietnamese aviation sector is enjoying strong growth, he suggested.

PM Phuc expected both sides work together to branch out smart urban area models, while hailing the Singaporean sides’ engagement in developing Da Nang city, which has the same size as Singapore.