Singapore, Vietnam economic ties not about matching investments: PM Lee
Tessa Oh
[HANOI] VIETNAMESE companies may not have expanded to Singapore on “a big scale”, but Singaporeans have still benefited when their own companies headed to Vietnam, through jobs created in both countries, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Aug 29).
“I wouldn’t look at it as needing reciprocity, in terms of Vietnamese investments needing to match our investments into Vietnam,” PM Lee told Singaporean reporters on the third and final day of his official trip to Hanoi.
“I think in due course, (investments) will come as their economy develops and reaches a higher level where companies will want to go overseas,” he added.
He drew a comparison to how Chinese companies have expanded abroad in “quite a significant way” following the country’s exponential growth. Many are now present in Singapore, including tech companies such as TikTok and Alibaba, and logistics and transportation firms such as Cosco.
“So I think (the investments) will come in time,” said PM Lee.
During the three-day visit, PM Lee and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reaffirmed the longstanding ties between both countries and agreed to explore upgrading their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
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Asked what this would mean for bilateral ties, PM Lee said that the foreign ministries of both countries will have to work together to reach an agreement on this.
For its part, Singapore is keen to strengthen air links between both countries, creating opportunities for both sides in areas such as aviation and logistics. This includes allowing flights to and from Singapore, Vietnam and a third destination – also known as fifth-freedom traffic rights.
PM Lee first raised this idea in 2017 to former Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. At the time, both leaders acknowledged the potential to enhance air connectivity and agreed to discuss the matter further.
“We need to find a substantive package so that when we go to a comprehensive strategic partnership, there’s meaning in that new term,” he said.
Giving a recap of the visit’s key outcomes, PM Lee noted that both countries made progress in existing partnerships and agreed to explore new areas of cooperation. Earlier this week, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of agreements to boost partnerships in the green economy, innovation and skills development.
Existing economic tie-ups were also deepened. On Tuesday, Singapore-listed company Sembcorp said it will develop four more industrial parks in Vietnam, in partnership with Vietnamese state-owned enterprise Becamax.
This will bring the number of Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks (VSIPs) in Sembcorp’s portfolio to 17.
The expansion of the VSIP project shows that it has done well in making “significant contributions” to Vietnam’s economy and bilateral ties, said PM Lee, who was also present at the launch ceremony.
On the international front, both prime ministers also discussed cooperation in Asean and on the global stage.
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