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Agency promotes Singapore investment
International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) has actively facilitated investment by Singapore companies in Viet Nam since 1993, as well as conducted urban development training for Vietnamese officials. The organisation's regional director for Viet Nam and Cambodia, Chiong Woan Shin, discussed its programmes with Viet Nam News.
What does IE Singapore do to promote trade and investment by Singapore companies in Viet Nam?
IE Singapore works closely with Singapore companies to help them export, do business and invest in overseas markets. Its first office was set up in HCM City in 1993, while its second one was established in Ha Noi in 2006, to provide on-the-ground intelligence and facilitate projects for enterprises from Singapore.
IE Singapore supports firms' overseas expansion into Viet Nam in a variety of ways, from project facilitation, to match-making Singapore companies with Vietnamese partners, and raising the awareness of Singapore enterprises of business and investment opportunities in Viet Nam.
In 2009 alone, IE Singapore organised and/or supported a total of 18 business missions to various parts of Viet Nam. More recently, in April 2010, we also supported and assisted in organising a business mission for companies from Singapore's chemical and processing industries to Viet Nam.
IE Singapore also facilitates reverse (Or outbound) visits for Vietnamese businesses and officials to Singapore to explore areas of collaboration and partnerships with Singapore enterprises.
For example, in April, IE Singapore brought a few Vietnamese fashion and retail-related companies to Singapore in conjunction with the Asia Fashion Exchange event. After the trip, the Vietnamese companies gave feedback that they found the one-to-one business meetings held during the mission to be very useful in terms of furthering their contacts and giving them exposure to Singapore's fashion and retail scene.
IE Singapore also holds events in Singapore to promote Viet Nam to our companies. One such recent event held to promote Viet Nam to Singapore investors was the iAdvisory Seminar Series on Doing Business in Viet Nam.
IE Singapore also plays an active role in the Singapore-Viet Nam Connectivity Framework Agreement to help Singapore companies invest and participate in Viet Nam's growth. The framework agreement is a key platform for enhancing bilateral economic co-operation and aims to build upon the strengths and competencies of both countries to accelerate Viet Nam's growth, while enabling Singapore's active participation in this growth.
After five years in effect, the framework has made good progress in many sectors and facilitated the progress of several significant investment projects by Singapore companies in Viet Nam.
Another aspect of the framework supported by IE Singapore is the urban development training (UDT) programme, under which Vietnamese officials have visited Singapore to learn more about Singapore's experience in urban planning and development. IE Singapore has helped facilitate eight visits since 2008 to provide urban development training for about 120 officials from Viet Nam. The training and familiarisation programmes were well-received and provided a good opportunity for Vietnamese leaders and officials to understand Singapore's approach and experience to integrated township development.
How can public-private partnerships help Viet Nam develop its urban infrastructure?
Public-private partnerships are a long-term partnering relationship between the public and private sectors to deliver services. Through these partnerships, the public sector seeks to bring together the expertise and resources of the public and private sectors to provide services to the public at the best value for money.
Under this model, the public sector focuses on acquiring services on the most cost-effective basis, rather than directly owning and operating assets. The private sector may thus undertake ownership of such projects and applies expertise in how to operate and maintain these assets.
Singapore-based companies have a strong reputation and track record in providing urban solutions to clients around the world, and along all points of the value chain. Some of our key overseas projects include: the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in China, the International Tech Park Bangalore in India, and the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) in Viet Nam.
The VSIPs, including parks in Binh Duong, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong, are seen as among the most successful industrial developments in Viet Nam in terms of their ability to attract investment and their environmental standards, which include wastewater and water resources management, infrastructure improvements such as well-developed road networks, and enlarged green spaces for improved living conditions.
Singapore's limited land and natural resources have led us to take an integrated approach in our urban planning and development. This is a key competitive advantage for Singapore, as we not only plan for current needs, but for anticipated needs. Such planning ensures that resource requirements, especially land resources, are set aside from the onset, reducing the need for heightened resettlement costs at a later stage.
What sectors in Viet Nam are attracting interest from Singapore firms?
Singapore was a relatively early investor in Viet Nam. The earlier investments by Singapore companies were generally concentrated in urban infrastructure and real estate development, including the construction of office buildings and apartments, and the development of industrial and export processing zones.
Today, Singapore firms have expanded their business interests in Viet Nam to span a wide range of industries, including urban development, logistics, port development, healthcare, education, hospitality, and manufacture of food and consumer products.
Since the 1990s, Singapore has consistently ranked among Viet Nam's top investment partners. Cumulative investments from Singapore totalled US$17.3 billion at the end of 2009, from 792 projects, spanning a range of industries from real estate and industrial park development to logistics and retail.
In 2009, Viet Nam was Singapore's 14th leading trading partner, with bilateral trade growing at a stable compound annual rate of 6.6 per cent over the past five years to reach $9.9 billion in 2009.
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