[HANOI] COMPANIES in Singapore and Vietnam stand to benefit from jointly capturing opportunities in both traditional and emerging sectors, said speakers at a business conference on Oct 20 (Friday).

Goh Keng Phang, economic counsellor of the Singapore Embassy in Vietnam, said Singapore and Vietnam can strengthen their collaboration in traditional sectors, such as manufacturing and logistics, as both countries seek to make further strides in their bilateral economic relationship.

Goh was speaking at a plenary session during a business conference in Hanoi. The event was organised by cultural-diplomacy platform Spotlight Singapore, which aims to connect entrepreneurs between Singapore and the world’s growth-leading economies through arts and culture.

This year’s conference was held in Vietnam to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, as well as 10 years of strategic partnerships, between Singapore and Vietnam.

In his opening address at the conference, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said: “A key outcome from our 50/10 engagements has been that both countries are now exploring the possibility of elevating our current strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

“This signifies a far deeper level of collaboration between Vietnam and Singapore.”

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Responding to Zaqy’s remarks, Goh cited the Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks (VSIPs) as the most “viable result” of the bilateral economic collaboration between the two countries, having created close to 300,000 jobs and with more than US$18 billion of capital investments.

He added that beyond manufacturing, Singapore can work with Vietnam to help bring the latter’s logistics costs down and improve its economic competitiveness.

Vietnam’s logistics costs make up about approximately 17 per cent to 18 per cent of its overall gross domestic product. This proportion is considered “much higher than economies of similar profiles”, noted Goh.

“(We) must work on improving logistics flow. This is key to getting the raw materials to the manufacturers and getting the finished products to markets,” he said.

The need for better supply-chain management comes as Vietnam has been ramping up its manufacturing output in recent years.

Edwin Chee, chief operating officer at industrial and logistics facility platform SLP (Vietnam), pointed out how more companies across the world are adopting the China Plus One strategy as they move their production from China to Vietnam in the process.

This in turn brings about the need for more modern industrial logistics warehouses in Vietnam, said Chee, who was participating in a panel discussion on the prospects and challenges of businesses in Vietnam and Singapore.

Speakers at the conference also said they saw opportunities for Singapore and Vietnam to collaborate in the emerging sectors of the digital economy and green economy.

Zaqy said there is much scope for the two countries to work together and exchange experiences as Vietnam’s economy “moves up the value chain, looks to innovation to drive economic growth, and transits towards a net-zero future”.

Vietnam’s ICT market has grown rapidly over the last few years, noted telecommunications giant FPT Telecom’s chief executive Hoang Viet Anh, who was on the same panel with Chee. Revenues from the country’s ICT sector hit US$148 billion in 2022, representing an increase of 8.7 per cent year on year.

“It’s a trend that will continue for many more years because the government has been pushing and supporting more businesses to move towards digital transformation,” said Hoang.

Collaboration between Singapore and Vietnam is all the more crucial, added Goh, as the transition to a digitally interoperable and net-zero region will “not be straightforward”.

“There are many unknowns. Governments and businesses must come together and co-create solutions to seize opportunities in these new engines of growth.”