Growing ties open up Vietnam opportunities for Singapore: PM Lee

HO CHI MINH CITY — Ties are prospering between Singapore and Vietnam, providing opportunities for Singaporeans to venture there, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday at a dinner reception with Singaporeans based in Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr Lee, who is on a four-day official visit to Vietnam, said that in Ho Chi Minh City alone, there are about 900 Singapore-linked projects and some 2,000 to 3,000 Singaporeans working there. Some 280 guests — comprising mostly businessmen and working professionals — were at Intercontinental Asiana Saigon for the dinner.

Mr Lee told the audience that Singapore is “in a time of transition” and that it would not be an easy transformation for the economy.

Recalling that the Committee on the Future Economy had recommended that Singaporeans venture overseas to gain opportunities, he said: “The fact that you are all here shows that the adventure spirit in Singapore is alive and well.”

Among the Singaporean dinner guests were Mr K C Low, 71, and his son Patrick Low, 28, who run 5th Element, a retail store in the city selling organic produce from their two farms in Da Lat, located in the south of Vietnam.

The senior Mr Low said he saw opportunities in Vietnam’s potential as a major food source and importer in Asia. Their 4ha farms grow some 120 varieties of fruits and vegetables, and can harvest about half-a-tonne of produce each day.

“We are trying to provide safe, healthy food as a neighbourhood store,” he said.

They will open a second outlet this Saturday and are planning a third one, all within Ho Chi Minh City.

Earlier yesterday after his arrival, Mr Lee received a call from Mr Nguyen Thanh Phong, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee chairman, and was hosted to lunch by him. Both parties affirmed the strong economic and business links between Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s commercial hub.

Singapore remains the top foreign investor in the city, having invested US$10.15 billion (S$14.17 billion) in 937 projects. These projects are largely in real estate, where companies such as Mapletree, Keppel Land and CapitaLand have continued to invest there in recent years.

Mr Lee expressed Singapore’s interest in expanding investments, adding that the country is happy to share its experience in urban planning and management with Ho Chi Minh City.

Today, Mr Lee is expected to officiate the opening of Mapletree Business Centre and have lunch with businessmen based in the city before heading to Hanoi.