Singapore – potential market for Vietnam: Official
Singapore is a promising market where Vietnamese products see both advantages and difficulties, Cao Xuan Thang from the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore said in an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency.
A booth at the Vietnamese goods week in Singapore (Photo: VNA)
Singapore (VNA) – Singapore is a promising marketwhere Vietnamese products see both advantages and difficulties, Cao Xuan Thangfrom the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore said in an interview granted toVietnam News Agency.
Thang said that Singapore is a transit market of the worldwith a high level of openness.
With its major income coming from services, Singapore isalmost completely dependent on imports of consumer goods, he said, noting that Singaporedoes not have any tariff and non-tariff restrictions or barriers on importedgoods, except for the mandatory regulations on quality standards ofinternational organisations.
According to Thang, Vietnam’s advantages include thecapacity of supplying various kinds of goods, close geographical distance toSingapore, and being a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreementfor Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) like Singapore.
Vietnam and Singapore are the only two countries in the regionto have comprehensive deals with Europe and the UK, he added, holding that thisis also an advantage for import-export activities between the two countries.
However, Thang underlined that Vietnam has also faced anumber of challenges and difficulties in the market, including fiercecompetition with other suppliers, and high marketing cost.
He said that over the years, the Vietnam Trade Office hasworked hard to support Vietnamese firms to approach the Singaporean market,especially through updating the policies and import-export situation of thecountry, guiding the companies to grasp export opportunities, and assistingthem in introducing their products to Singaporean partners.
Last year, the office held a hybrid trade fair to promote Vietnamese products,he said.
After Singapore reopenedits door at the beginning of the year, the office collaborated with its partners to organise a conference toprovide information on the market and products of Vietnam to nearly 400Singaporean firms.
In the coming months, the office will continue to support domestic firms tojoin trade fairs in Singapore and send samples to local firms, while holdingonline trade conferences and arranging for Singaporean enterprises to visit Vietnam toseek partnership with their Vietnamese peers, said Thang./.
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A booth at the Vietnamese goods week in Singapore (Photo: VNA) 
