Vietnamese firms seek opportunities in Singapore
AS MANY as 110 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Vietnam participated in a conference in Singapore last Friday to seek business and investment opportunities in this foreign market
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The meeting was inspired by the cooperation from the Vietnam–Singapore Friendship Association, the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore and the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Club under the Vietnamese Association of SMEs.
At the conference, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Nguyen Tien Minh highlighted the presence of Vietnamese small businesses participating in the event for the first time, which he said indicated their ability to take advantage of opportunities overseas.
Through Singapore, Vietnamese firms can better serve the region and global markets, especially Europe, a significant trade partner for both Vietnam and Singapore, Minh said.
The diplomat said the relationship between the two countries had grown rapidly over the past few years in all fields such as economics, defence, education and training and citizen exchange.
Singapore is currently the third-largest foreign investor and the leading ASEAN investor in Vietnam, with over US$38 billion outlaid in more than 1,600 Vietnamese projects related to processing, technology, manufacturing and real estate, as well as construction, transportation and logistics.
Singapore is Vietnam’s 12th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade doubling over the last decade to nearly $16 billion last year.
Singapore Business Federation representative Thian Tai Chew told reporters the latest survey found that Asean was the top region where Singaporean businesses wanted to expand investment, while Vietnam ranked third amongst the Southeast Asian countries for targeted investment.