Singaporean investors seek partnership opportunities in Việt Nam

An overview of the conference. — VNA/VNS Photo

SINGAPORE — Vietnamese and Singaporean businesses shared their experience in investing in the Vietnamese market and sought partnership opportunities, during a financial investment promotion conference held in Singapore on Tuesday.

Minister of Finance Hồ Đức Phớc and Vietnamese authorities answered many questions from participating investors regarding Việt Nam’s policies on foreign investment activities.

Afred Chia C K, CEO of SingCapital, commented that Việt Nam is a promising land that many foreign investors are interested in. However, a lack of information in English is among the difficulties facing them, he held, suggesting that the Vietnamese Government support relevant parties from securities firms to asset management funds, while cooperate with not only Singapore but also the ASEAN region to better supply foreign investors with information on the risks and opportunities when investing in Việt Nam.

Meanwhile, YEO Wee Yap, Managing Director at SeaTown Holdings which is investing about US$600 million in Việt Nam, said that the country is an attractive investment destination thanks to a steady economic growth, a golden population, and the Government’s strong actions to support businesses.

He said investors hope for faster administrative procedures, especially those in land use and sale licenses.

Vietcombank’s Deputy Director Vũ Quang Đông stressed the need to upgrade the Vietnamese stock market to benefit both foreign and domestic investors. The upgrade will affect not only the capital and stock markets but also Việt Nam’s position, thereby helping it attract more foreign investment.

Affirming that the policy of creating favourable conditions for and active support from the Vietnamese Government, especially in the stock market, Vũ Chân Phương from the State Securities Commission of Việt Nam pointed to the need to remove regulations related to margin trading for foreign institutional investors to create conditions for foreign investors to access the market more flexibly, save costs, and minimise risks when converting foreign currencies to Vietnamese đồng.

She also mentioned the need to increase information supply in English and updates on foreign investors’ ownership rates on mass media so that foreign investors can easily access and know the foreign ownership rates for conditional or restricted business areas. — VNS