Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh expressed his desire for Singapore to share its experience in international financial centre (IFC) operation, as well as help establish a network of connections with partners in Singapore, during his meeting with Heng Swee Keat, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Finance of Singapore, on January 13 as part of his working visit to the city-state.
During the meeting Deputy PM Binh highlighted the flourishing development of Vietnam – Singapore relations in recent times, which reached the highest level with the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March last year.
Building on the strong political foundation between the two countries, Binh proposed further deepening economic ties by increasing the number of Vietnam–Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) to 30, while improving their quality toward greener and smarter models, with each new park outperforming the previous one.
He showed his hope that Heng will play an active role in promoting cooperation between the two countries in finance, high technology, renewable energy, smart infrastructure and sustainable urban development, offshore wind power exports, carbon credit exchanges, and seaport development.
Heng, who is also former Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), highly valued the increasingly strong development of bilateral relations, noting that Singapore is one of Vietnam’s leading investment and trade partners, with the VSIP IPs widely regarded as a vivid symbol of economic cooperation between the two countries.
Regarding cooperation in connecting IFCs of Vietnam and Singapore, the two sides affirmed this as a new and highly promising area of bilateral cooperation.
Binh urged Heng to support the promotion of connectivity between Vietnam's IFC and that of Singapore, as well as other financial hubs in the region, while continuing to provide strategic advice for Vietnam during its future IFC development process.
Heng spoke highly of Vietnam’s rapid economic growth potential, and underlined the crucial importance of mobilising adequate financial resources.
Singapore’s experience shows that the IFC development should be closely linked to the priorities of the real economy and serve the demand of local citizens, he said.
With firsthand experience of regional and global financial crises, Heng stressed that economic growth must be pursued alongside macroeconomic stability, with strong links between domestic and international markets, while containing the risks of cascading effects in a financial crisis.
During his stay, Binh also held meetings with Tan Teck Long, Group Chief Executive Officer of OCBC Bank and Chairman of the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), and representatives from OCBC’s member banks including UOB, DBS, and Standard Chartered. The Vietnamese official also met with Holly Fang, President of the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), and received several experts and leaders of investment funds.
During the meetings, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh briefed counterparts on Vietnam’s key socio-economic achievements and priorities for strategic infrastructure, particularly in transportation, energy, railways, and digital infrastructure. He emphasised the significant need to mobilise financial resources for these projects and urged associations to inform their member banks and financial institutions about investment opportunities in Vietnam.
He reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment to providing the most favourable business environment, with internationally competitive policies at its IFC.
Tan highly valued Vietnam’s strong growth potential and affirmed Singapore’s readiness to cooperate and support Vietnam’s IFC in the coming period. Leaders of member banks and financial institutions of ABS shared recommendations, emphasising the need to ensure connectivity between Vietnam’s IFC and its real economy, prioritise the development of digital assets and fintech, and build a skilled digital workforce-based comprehensive digital ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Holly Fang shared the SFA’s vision of promoting fintech applications across economic sectors, helping position Singapore as a regional and global fintech hub. She affirmed the association’s readiness to organise business missions and connect Singaporean companies with Vietnamese fintech firms.
Binh hoped the ABS and SFA would assist their member banks and companies in joining the operation of Vietnam’s IFC and establishing a presence in the centre at an early stage.
He also called on Singaporean experts and investors to support Vietnam’s IFC by providing advisory services, attracting international investment funds, and facilitating connections with the Singapore Exchange (SGX)./.
VNA
