Singaporean businessman hopes PM’s visit will promote trade

The President of Singapore Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), Chan Chong Beng, said he really hopes that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s forthcoming visit to Vietnam will promote more bilateral trade between Singapore and Vietnam.
The President of Singapore Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), Chan Chong Beng, said he really hopes that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s forthcoming visit to Vietnam will promote more bilateral trade between Singapore and Vietnam.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency’s Singapore-based reporter on September 9, the ASME President also expressed his belief that the visit will further strengthen ties between the two nations.

“The four Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Parks reflect the excellent economic ties between our governments and these industrial parks can be avenues for Singaporean SMEs to expand or relocate part of their businesses to Vietnam . Such is the importance of this cooperation that our Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be opening the fifth industrial park,” Chan said.

According to Chan, a recent survey of Singaporean SMEs found Ho Chi Minh City to be one of the key markets that Singapore companies would like to explore.

He said: “There are a lot of opportunities that Singaporean SMEs can tap in the Vietnamese market like tourism and food processing and even set up production plants like garment factories.”

However, the ASME President added that compared with the total 160,000 SMEs the number of Singaporean SMEs present in Vietnam is small, therefore Singaporean SMEs should look at Vietnam very carefully and make a move over there.

As far as Vietnamese SMEs’ overseas operations, Chan said they can use Singapore as a springboard to export to many parts of the world and make use of Singapore’s good infrastructure to move further to Asia and even to the rest of the world”.-VNA

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