Singapore is 3rd largest foreign investor in Vietnam: MTI

SINGAPORE - Singapore is the third largest foreign investor in Vietnam as of March 2014, with about US$30.2 billion (S$37.9 billion) in registered cumulative investments in 1,258 projects, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

At the Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Ministerial Meeting on Tuesday, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kian and Vietnam Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh affirmed economic ties and said they will continue to seek greater economic collaboration. 

Trade minister Lim, who co-chaired the meeting with his Vietnam counterpart, said: "Vietnam and Singapore are long-term trade and investment partners. With urbanisation and rapid economic growth in Vietnam, there is scope for further collaboration between the two countries in a diverse range of sectors. I encourage companies to continue exploring business opportunities in Vietnam."

Bilateral trade has grown steadily over the last decade, according to MTI. Since 2003, there has been a three-fold increase to $17.4 billion in 2013, the MTI revealed. 

The Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Framework Agreement is an overarching bilateral economic cooperation framework between Singapore and Vietnam. During the meeting, both sides noted good progress made across the six pillars of Connectivity, namely: (i) Finance (ii) Education & Training (iii) Transportation (iv) Investment (v) Information technology and telecommunications (vi) Trade & Services.

In conjunction with the 10th Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Ministerial Meeting, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) jointly organised the Vietnam Investment Update Session on Tuesday (April 28), where Minister Bui Quang Vinh delivered the keynote address.

Singapore companies have been active in Vietnam. Recent projects include Banyan Tree's Laguna Lang Co Resort in Thua-Thien Hue province, Vietnam's first and largest integrated resort, and NTUC's first joint-venture hypermarket in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Other upcoming projects include Singapore real estate developer Mapletree's project to develop SC VivoCity, a one-stop 'family- lifestyle-destination' mall, as well as Keppel Land's development of Saigon Centre Phase 2 with Takashimaya as the anchor retail tenant. Both projects are in Ho Chi Minh City.

maryanns@sph.com.sg