Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang has called on companies in the city-state to continue exploring business opportunities in Vietnam.

A press release of the Ministry for Trade and Industry quoted Lim as saying "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."

The press release, issued following the 10th Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Ministerial Meeting which was held in Singapore on April 29, wrote that the meeting was successful, highlighting the need for Singapore and Vietnam to continue seeking greater economic collaboration and forging stronger bilateral economic ties.

During the meeting, both sides noted good progress made across the six pillars of Connectivity, namely finance, education and training, transportation, investment, information technology and telecommunications, and trade and services.

Since its implementation in early 2006, the Connectivity Framework has successfully facilitated several private sector projects into Vietnam, and directly or indirectly contributed to the 21 billion USD worth of Singapore’s registered investments into Vietnam. The projects include the development of the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP), PSA’s joint venture with Saigon Port to build and operate a deep-sea container terminal in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province as well as the establishment of branch offices by Singapore banks in Vietnam.

The Connectivity Framework has also strengthened public sector cooperation in all six sectors. For example, Singapore agencies have organised a wide range of capacity building programmes for Vietnamese officials in urban development, education and civil aviation, amongst others. The agencies have also facilitated study visits and seminars to share Singapore’s experience in areas such as ICT regulations, monetary policy and technical education.

Noting the strong growth in bilateral trade and investment services between the two countries over the past decade, both sides at the 10th Connectivity Ministerial Meeting agreed that there is potential to deepen and expand bilateral economic collaboration.

The ministry added, as Vietnam continues to liberalise and develop its economy, Singapore companies can contribute and participate in Vietnam’s economic development in a wide range of sectors, including urban solutions, retail and food services, logistics, telecommunications as well as tourism and hospitality.

Bilateral trade has grown steadily over the last decade, achieving a three-fold increase since 2003 to reach 17.4 billion SGD in 2013. As of March 2014, Singapore is the third largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with about 30.2 billion USD in registered cumulative investments in 1,258 projects.

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.-VNA