On April 26th, 2018 in Singapore, the Vietnam – Singapore Business Forum 2018 was jointly organized by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, Enterprise Singapore (ESG), the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF). Governor Le Minh Hung of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment co-hosted the discussion session with the participants and business people attending the forum.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended and delivered the opening speech at the Forum. The Forum, with the theme of “Celebrating 45th year of diplomatic relations, 5th year of strategic partnership: Co-creating Vietnam – Singapore future economies”, was one of the highlight events during the official visit of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the Republic of Singapore between 25-28 April 2018.
In the field of investment, the discussion session focused on the issues that Singaporean investors are interested in, such as the policies of the Government of Vietnam, the sectors and areas attracting foreign investments, the development of special economic zones... in the context of Vietnam's accelerated integration into the world economy with the signing of a series of free trade agreements and the Government's orientations to develop the digital economy and to encourage innovation.
Concerning the banking sector, the questions were focused on the issues of implementing financial inclusion, financial education and orientations for the development of financial technology (Fintech) of the Government and the SBV.
In terms of Financial Inclusion, the SBV Governor said that the SBV had been actively working with other ministries and government agencies, as well as the international organizations such as the WB, the ADB and the bilateral donors, to develop a comprehensive national financial strategy on financial inclusion based on an overall approach, thereby creating a basis for a comprehensive and effective implementation of the pillars of Finance Inclusion, contributing to sustainable economic growth. In this strategy, educating and enhancing people's financial knowledge, especially for the poor and the disadvantaged, are extremely important factors, as well as the target of ensuring financial access for all people, especially those living in the remote and impoverished areas.
Regarding the orientations and policies for the development and investments in the Fintech area of the Government of Vietnam and the SBV, the Governor informed the participants that in March 2017, the State Bank of Vietnam established a Steering Committee on Financial Technology (Steering Committee on Fintech) headed by a Deputy Governor of the SBV. In addition, the SBV has also been promoting international cooperation in this area by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in the field of Financial Innovation with the Republic of Korea Financial Services Commission (FSC) in March 2018, and most lately the signing of a new MOU on 26 April 2018 between the SBV and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on financial innovation. The orientations of the Government and the SBV regarding Fintech are to support domestic Fintech businesses in their cooperation with the foreign partners and Fintech companies, at the same time, to promote the cooperation between Vietnamese banks, intermediary payment companies with the domestic and foreign Fintech companies. The Governor stressed that Vietnam is a potential market for the development of Fintech and looked forward to seeing the dynamic cooperation between the banks and Fintech businesses, both domestic and foreign ones, including the investors and businesses from Singapore.
The Vietnam-Singapore Business Forum 2018 was attended by hundreds of national and international participants, and witnessed the signing of nearly 20 contracts and cooperation arrangements among the businesses, banks and investors of the two countries.
VA