Vietnamese, Singaporean firms sign cooperation deals worth nearly 11 billion USD

An overview of the Vietnam-Singapore business dialogue (Photo: VNA)

Singapore – Vietnamese and Singaporean businesses signed cooperation deals worth nearly 11 billion USD at the Vietnam-Singapore business dialogue on February 25, which was attended by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Speaking at the event, which drew more than 100 business of the two countries in different sectors, President Phuc said he hopes the deals will be realised early, and urged both Vietnamese and Singaporean enterprises to take practical actions to contribute to the growth of bilateral relations, especially when the two sides are to celebrate their 50th diplomatic ties and 10 years of strategic partnership in 2023.

Underlining the role of businesses in implementing the two countries' cooperation strategies, President Phuc pledged that Vietnam will always create optimal conditions for enterprises of both sides to develop their partnership by improving its business environment, increasing transparency and dealing with problems in logistics, land and human resources.

The State leader said that Vietnam is rolling out measures to speed up economic recovery with the targets of 7 percent of economic growth in 2022 and inflation rate of under 5 percent. From now to 2025, the country aims for an average GDP growth of 6.5-7 percent per year, with digital economy accounting for 20 percent of the GDP, he said, stating that this is a good chance for Singaporean firms to increase investment in Vietnam.

Vietnam prioritises FDI projects that use high technology, help Vietnamese firms to engage deeper into the value chains and contribute to promoting digital economy as well as sustainable growth of Vietnam, he said.

Phuc advised Vietnamese and Singaporean firms to focus on collaborating in prioritised areas such as high technology, digital transformation and innovation, while fostering economic connectivity within the ASEAN and in the region, and making the best use of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and rhe Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The President said that Vietnam and Singapore encourage the connection of the two economies through digital platforms, which has been reflected in the signing of cooperation deals between ministries and sectors of both sides during his ongoing Singaporean visit.

He added that he hopes more Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VISIP) will be built across Vietnam.

Singapore’s Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said that Singaporean firms are growing strongly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and expanding their business in other localities such as Vinh Phuc, Quang Ninh and Binh Duong.

He said that he and Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien have agreed on cooperation orientations in various fields, including digital economy, energy, digital certification in food production, and agriculture.

At the event, SOVICO Group and Keppel Group, and their subsidiaries of Keppel Land, Keppel Urban Solutions exchanged documents on their cooperation agreement worth 1.5 billion USD in developing sustainable energy and urbanisation solutions. SOVICO and Keppel Energy Ventures also exchanged documents for a 1.5 billion USD deal on developing comprehensively sustainable energy solutions for transition to a green economy and reduction of carbon emissions.

Besides, SOVICO, Vietjet Air and Changi Group reached a 1.5 billion USD deal on providing aviation services in Vietnamese airports. Vietjet Air and ST Engineering of Singapore also inked a contract on the supply of technical services and airplane equipment worth 150 million USD.

The Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HD Bank) and Thought Machine exchanged a deal on the integration of advanced technologies into digital banking services in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, T&T Group signed an MoU with YCH Group of Singapore on studying a logistics project in Can Giuoc district of Long An province.

At the same time, TH Group and HAO Mart, the leading supermarket chain in Singapore, also inked an MoU on strategic cooperation in selling and promoting clean milk and farm produce of TH in Singapore.