After more than 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations (1973-2024), especially more than 10 years of the Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Partnership (2013-2024), the relationship between the two countries continues to develop strongly in both breadth and depth; in which, economic and trade cooperation is always a bright spot in the relationship between the two countries.
Furthermore, Vietnam and Singapore are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Both sides have been promoting FTAs to enhance cooperation and contribute to the economic development of each country as well as the region.
In particular, the official visit to Singapore by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man will create a new breakthrough in bilateral relations, meeting the practical interests of the people and promoting mutual prosperity.
Continuous growth
According to experts, since 1996, Singapore has always been one of Vietnam's largest partners. Trade turnover between the two countries has increased every year.
Direct investment from Singapore to Vietnam has been increasing continuously since 1998. The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) has become a symbol of Vietnam-Singapore relations and is being expanded towards a green, high-tech, and innovative industrial park.
In addition, Vietnam and Singapore are both members with important voices in ASEAN at multilateral forums as well as in the international arena.
Furthermore, Vietnam and Singapore have closely coordinated with each other at multilateral organizations and forums such as the United Nations, ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and on regional and international issues of mutual concern.
Mr. Cao Xuan Thang, Commercial Counselor, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, said that Singapore is a relatively small consumer market but is home to many multinational companies and is a major information, trade, financial, and logistics center in the region and the world. Not only that, Singapore is also a major international air transit center, a very important gateway to Asia in general and Southeast Asia in particular; including Vietnam.
At the meeting with Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Jaya Ratnam, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long emphasized that Singapore is a particularly important partner of Vietnam. The cooperative relationship between the two countries has continuously developed, achieved many good and comprehensive results and Singapore is Vietnam's leading economic, trade and investment partner in the region and the world.
According to statistics, in 2023, Singapore will be Vietnam's 4th largest trading partner in ASEAN (after Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia) and Vietnam's 14th trading partner in the world.
On the other hand, according to Singaporean statistics, Vietnam is Singapore's 4th largest trading partner in ASEAN and Singapore's 11th largest trading partner in the world. The total two-way import-export turnover between Vietnam and Singapore will reach 9.1 billion in 2023.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long said that Singapore is a country with a lot of experience in the fields of digital economy, green growth and sustainable development.
Therefore, the Deputy Minister hopes that Singapore will continue to support Vietnam in these areas, especially to achieve the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Regarding cooperation in training and skills development, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long emphasized that Singapore is a pioneer and has a lot of experience in digital transformation, green economy, and clean energy. Therefore, Singapore is an important partner to accompany, support, and share experiences with Vietnam.
Ambassador Jaya Ratnam affirmed that Singapore is ready to cooperate and support Vietnam in training relevant human resources in this field and other fields based on Vietnam's proposal.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, from 1996 to present, Singapore has always been one of Vietnam's important trade partners.
Trade turnover between the two countries increases every year. In the period 2018-2023, trade turnover between the two countries increased from 7.1 billion USD to 9.1 USD, equivalent to 18.2%.
It is estimated that in the first 11 months of 2024, the import-export turnover between the two countries will reach 9.6 billion USD, an increase of 17.5% over the same period in 2023; of which, exports are estimated at 4.8 billion USD, an increase of 25.1%, and imports are estimated at 4.8 billion USD, an increase of 10.7% over the same period in 2023.
Vietnam and Singapore continue to be each other's fourth largest trading partners in Southeast Asia.
By commodity group, the leading group is processed and manufactured goods, accounting for 76% of total export turnover to Singapore, followed by fuel and minerals, accounting for 6%, and agricultural and aquatic products and construction materials, accounting for 5% of total export turnover to Singapore.
It can be seen that manufacturing is the main export group to Singapore; including items such as computers, components and spare parts, machinery, equipment, tools, means of transport, etc.
According to trade experts, with good political and diplomatic relations, close geographical location, similar cultural environment in Southeast Asia, and being members of many FTAs, these are favorable factors promoting cooperation between businesses of the two countries.
In addition, every year, many Singaporean business delegations supported by the Vietnam Trade Office come to Vietnam to study the market, promote investment, find sources of goods, connect with trade, promote industrial investment, trade and services. This shows that the need for cooperation between businesses of the two countries is very large.
Capture the market
Experts also pointed out that the current state of cooperation between enterprises is still not commensurate with its potential. For example, in the agricultural and aquatic products group, Vietnam is a country rich in resources and agricultural and food products, while Singapore is a country that imports more than 90% of its food.
However, exports of this group of goods from Vietnam to Singapore only account for 5% of total export turnover and some items such as chicken and eggs have not yet been licensed for import by Singapore.
In addition, the difficulties that businesses are facing when exporting to the Singapore market include mandatory import requirements on food hygiene and safety, technical standards, environmental protection regulations and other regulations. Moreover, Singaporean consumers have high demands on the quality, appearance, brand, reputation, etc. of imported products.
Meanwhile, many Vietnamese products still do not ensure stability and consistency in quality, are limited in design and variety, and do not focus on building image and brand...
In particular, the level of competition in the Singapore market is relatively large; including regional competitors such as Thailand, India, Japan, etc.
Recently, at Rang Dong Textile Industrial Park, Nam Dinh province, Sanbang Limited Liability Company (Singapore) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a textile factory with a total land use area of 103,400 m2 and a total investment of 673.5 billion VND (equivalent to nearly 30 million USD).
According to the plan, Sanbang Limited Liability Company (Singapore) will focus on construction, equipment installation and trial operation in the third quarter of 2025; official production from the fourth quarter of 2025.
After completion of construction, the project's annual capacity is expected to reach 15,000 tons of towels, 14 million meters of woven fabric, and 15,000 tons of DTY yarn.
Ms. Amy Wee, Director of the Singapore Business Federation in Vietnam, said that the federation has more than 29,000 member businesses, many of which are interested in investing and expanding operations in Vietnam in the fields of manufacturing, education, healthcare, business services, and trade.
To successfully and sustainably export to Singapore, Mr. Cao Xuan Thang said that exporting enterprises need to carefully study market information, grasp changes in the import market to build export strategies. Moreover, Singapore is increasingly cautious in its trade policy, avoiding dependence on one export and import market. This is also an opportunity for enterprises to penetrate deeper into the market, contributing to increasing the export of goods.
As a state management agency, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recommends that businesses proactively research the market, consumer trends, policies, standards, and regulations of Singapore related to the import of their goods, competitors, and current business trends.
At the same time, closely connect with state agencies, the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, the community, and business associations to promptly update new policies of the host market to help adjust and respond to risks and difficulties, and request support when necessary.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade also noted that businesses should innovate production technology, improve product quality and appearance to meet the high standards of the Singapore market such as design, packaging, and labels, especially when green consumption is increasingly growing.
On the other hand, actively participate in trade connections, expand partnerships, take advantage of marketing opportunities for goods and products; business opportunities through the e-commerce market. Thereby, helping businesses have high interaction with consumers, flexibly adjust products according to tastes and needs, no capital stagnation, low initial costs and full control of the brand./.
(Vietnam+)
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tao-dot-pha-moi-trong-hop-tac-song-phuong-viet-nam-singapore-post998383.vnp
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