Vietnam's red hot economy attracts interest of Singapore businesses
By Loh Kim Chin, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 September 2007 2125 hrs

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SINGAPORE : A seminar was organised on Wednesday to help Singapore investors interested in Vietnam.

They were given an insight of how the Vietnamese economy has been opening up.

Huynh Bun Quang, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Vietnam, said: "The government of Vietnam is committed to open up the market in many sectors which used to be quite restrictive to foreign investors -- for example, in retail, in distribution, in telecom, in financial services sector and also in technology."

While interest in Vietnam is growing, IE Singapore advises investors to be thorough in their research before taking the first step.

Angela Png, Deputy Director, IE Singapore, said: "Vietnam also has a regional structure. So sometimes there may be some slight differences, perhaps in communications between the capital Hanoi and the region.

"And, of course, the country is in transition. So you know, new rules and regulations are being formulated and they need some time to be implemented as well. So you may face some of these challenges." - AFP/ch