Twelve memorandums of agreement seeking to deepen collaboration between Singapore and Vietnam were signed at the inaugural overseas edition of the Singapore Regional Business Forum (SRBF) in Hanoi on Friday (July 7).

The MOUs cover a broad range of areas including financial services, sustainability, digitalization, and human capital development.

More than 800 business leaders, senior government officials, and diplomats from more than 420 companies and organizations across 32 countries and economies attended the 7th SRBF, according to the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), the organizer of the event. They included 550 in-person participants.

Innovation, energy connectivity and sustainability are three areas in which Singapore and Vietnam can work together to seize opportunities of the next decade and further deepen bilateral cooperation, Singapore’s second trade and industry minister Tan See Leng told the forum.

When it comes to innovation, the two countries are among the top three start-up ecosystems in Southeast Asia today. “With our common goal of driving further economic growth through technology and innovation, there is scope to tap each other’s innovation ecosystems for partners, funding and talent,” he says.

Net-zero vision

On energy connectivity, Tan notes that the two countries share a common vision towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Vietnamese deputy prime minister Le Minh Khai called on businesses from both countries to further enhance ties.

“The Vietnamese government is committed to providing the best business environment in line with OECD standards, with a focus on socioeconomic and political stability, supply chain development, and reduction in administrative costs,” he says.

At the forum, SBF and Singapore bank United Overseas Bank  (UOB) launched a joint corporate social responsibility initiative to nurture young talents in the fields of finance, technology, and innovation.

Under the initiative, more than 1,000 eligible students in Vietnam will have opportunities to acquire skills and gain hands-on experience in business, so that they can grow their expertise and be future-ready in the digital era, according to UOB.

The MoUs signed in Hanoi include:

• Between SBF and the Foreign Investment Agency of the Vietnam Ministry of Planning and Investment, seeking to promote investment and commercial collaboration.
• Between SBF and Vietnam’s Techcombank, seeking to promote investment and commercial collaboration.
• Between Techcombank, PwC Vietnam, Kyriba Singapore, and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, to establish a platform for raising the treasury maturity of Vietnamese companies, especially in the mid-market and upper SME (small and medium enterprise) segment.
• Between PSA Vietnam, wholly owned subsidiary of port group PSA International, and Saigon Newport Corporation.
• Between UOB and the Foreign Investment Agency of Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment.
• Between UOB FinLab and Singapore’s Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Vietnam’s Foreign Trade University, and Vietnam National Innovation Center.
• Between UOB FinLab and government agencies and higher institutes of learning in both Vietnam and Singapore.
• Between Keppel Corporation, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and Vietnam National Innovation Center. 
• Between National University of Singapore and Vietnam National Innovation Center.
• Between Singapore Manufacturing Federation and Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture.
• Between Forte Biotech Vietnam and College of Aquaculture and Fisheries of Can Tho University.