Singapore firms eye Vietnam food industry

Many Singaporean firms are interested in investing in food, agriculture, and dining services in Vietnam as they forecast that these sectors will thrive in the near future amidst broader ASEAN integration.

The statement was made by Andy Yun, Secretary General of Singapore Manufacturing Federation, representing more than 3,000 members operating in automation, biology, construction, heavy industry and more, during the second Vietnam – Singapore business exchange held in the island state last week.

Yun described Vietnam as a major market in the region with huge potential in agriculture and the food industry. Meanwhile, Singaporean enterprises are strong in technology, supply chains and logistics – a supplementary factor to the bilateral partnership.

Nguyễn Văn Thân, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, led a delegation of over 100 Vietnamese firms, many of them start-ups, to the event.

He said many Singaporean enterprises actively connected with Vietnamese ones at the event, proving that bilateral cooperation potential is huge.

Accounting for over 97 percent of the total, Vietnamese SMEs contribute nearly 40 per cent of the gross domestic product, 33 per cent of industrial production value, 30 per cent of export value and attract more than half of the workforce, he said.

Singapore is now the sixth largest trade partner of Vietnam in the world and the second largest in ASEAN. Vietnam is also the 12th largest trade partner of Singapore. Two-way trade has grown 12-15 per cent annually over the past years.