The Vietnamese market is large enough for Singaporean investors, according to Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh.
Overview of the meeting. Source: VGP.
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The Vietnamese market has transformed substantially and expanded at a high growth rate based on growing GDP per capita, reaching nearly US$2,600 in 2018, Binh stated.
Vietnam targets GDP growth of 6.5 – 6.7% annually until 2020, while GDP per capita would be in range of US$3,200 – 3,500.
During 46 years of two countries’ diplomatic relations and six years of strategic partnership, Singapore has been among Vietnam’s major partners in trade, investment, tourism, education, health and international transportation in ASEAN.
As of present, Singapore has invested over US$50 billion with more than 2,300 projects in 48 out of 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam, ranking third among 132 countries and territories having investment projects in Vietnam.
In the first six months of 2019, Singapore invested US$3.2 billion in Vietnam, ranking third among 103 countries and territories.
More importantly, the country is a gateway for multinationals cooperating with Vietnam in trade and investment.
According to Binh, Singapore has established and put into operation seven Vietnam – Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) which have been a symbol in bilateral economic relation.
Bilateral trade turnover reached US$7.66 billion in 2018 and US$3.7 billion in the first six months of 2019.
Binh informed over the last 30 years, Vietnam maintained average economic growth of 6.74%, and reached a 10-year high of 7.08% in 2018. Meanwhile, the country’s trade turnover stood at US$480 billion, with trade surplus of US$6.7 billion.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast Vietnam to be the fastest growing economy in ASEAN in 2019.
Moreover, Vietnam ranked 69th out of 190 countries and territories in the World Bank’s Doing Business report, up 13 places against 2016. The country’s national competitiveness improves by five places in the World Economic Forum and by 12 places in the innovation index of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Binh said the government would continue to focus on restructuring the economy, while staying active on integrating into global economy, improving growth quality based on productivity and innovation.
Another priority is to enhance the competitiveness of the national business environment, as well as the quality of foreign direct investment (FDI). Based on these targets, Vietnam strives to perfect and simplify legal frameworks and regulations towards greater transparency and consistency, Binh added.
Vietnam is aware of the importance of infrastructure development, which is being addressed by the government to form greater interprovincial linkages, aiming to further integrate in global value chain and supporting industries.
Vietnam is working towards the goal of becoming a modernized and smart country, which requires huge capital for infrastructure development, modern energy and education sectors, among others, which are the advantages of Singapore.
Binh said the two countries have developed efficient dialogue mechanism through the conferences connecting Vietnam – Singapore economies, helping to address concern of Singaporean investors in Vietnam and subsequently boosting more investment capital to the country.
