Singaporean firms have to date invested in 104 projects in the city of Hanoi at a price of USD3.2 billion.
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| The Mulberry Lane in Ha Dong Distirct, Hanoi is one of many projects invested by Singapore\'s CapitaLand in Vietnam. |
According to Nguyen Si Hien, Director of Hanoi Information and Investment Promotion Centre under Authority for Hanoi Industrial Zones (IZs) & Export Processing Zones, the numbers mean that Singapore is the second largest foreign investor in the city behind South Korea.
11 projects totaling nearly USD100 million are located in IZs focusing on the areas of garment and textiles, electronics and engineering. Hien added that this figure remains modest compared to great investment potential between Singapore companies and Vietnam’s IZs in general and Hanoi’s in particular.
He disclosed that, “Currently, 8 of the 19 IZs in Hanoi are operational out of the total number of 19 approved by the prime minister. From now to 2015, the city will have 20 IZs put into operation, which will offer great opportunities for Singapore investors.”
Hanoi has pledged to create the most favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Singapore, to do business in its IZs and export processing zones through one-stop licensing mechanism and incentives in taxes and land use, Hien emphasised.
Raymond Lui, the Second Secretary of the Singaporean Embassy in Vietnam, said that Vietnam is a key market to Singapore. International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) has opened 30 representative offices worldwide and Vietnam is the only country in Southeast Asia that has two IE Singapore’s offices, one in Hanoi and the other in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Raymond Lui, by late September this year, Singapore had 792 valid projects valued at USD17.6 billion in Vietnam. In previous years, Singaporean investment was mostly poured into the south, but recently, companies from the island-nation have focused their attention to Hanoi and a number of northern localities.
Many Singaporean businesses are committed to long-term investments in the Southeast Asian nation, including Sembcorp, APL, DBS, OCBC, UOB and Mapletree.
At the conference, Le Truong Son, Vietnamese Investment Counselor in Singapore, said many Singaporean enterprises want to invest in Vietnam, particularly in projects of processing, investment, healthcare and logistics.
He also added that 20 Vietnamese companies have invested over USD100 million into Singapore.