Singaporean investors still regard Vietnam as an important destination in Southeast Asia, showing keen interest in a wide range of industries in the country. More firms from the island state are venturing into the agriculture and hi-tech sectors, said Norman Lim, head of the Singapore Business Group in HCMC, during the VietnamSingapore Business Forum in HCMC last week. Singaporean companies have long imported farm produce from traditional markets like Indonesia and Malaysia. However, they are diversifying their import markets and Vietnam is on their radar.
Edlyn Khoo, director of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore in HCMC, said his agency had arranged trips for a number of Singaporean firms to some provinces and cities in Vietnam to sort out opportunities to cooperate with Vietnamese partners in agriculture. More Singaporean companies have invested in high-tech projects in Vietnam to supply parts for multinational corporations in this market. They are also keen on the oil and gas sector, especially the Nghi Son oil refinery project in the northern province of Thanh Hoa. However, in the long term, real estate will remain one of the most attractive sectors to Singapore investors though this sector has not shown clear signs of recovery after years of stagnation.
Singapore ranks third among 101 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Figures of the Foreign Investment Agency show that Singapore had 1,272 valid projects with combined registered capital of over US$30.3 billion as of May 20 this year. More than US$11.3 billion was poured into the manufacturing-processing sector and US$10 billion into the property sector.
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