Minister Ho Duc Phoc and Second Minister, Singapore Ministry of Finance Chee Hong Tat at the working session on the morning of August 5 (Photo: HT)

Also attending the meeting were Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung; Director General of the General Department of Taxation Mai Xuan Thanh, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Customs Dinh Ngoc Thang, Director of the Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Finance) Ha Duy Tung; Deputy Chief of Office of the Ministry of Finance Han Quang Huy.

On the side of the Singapore Ministry of Finance, there were Ms. Lina Chua, Director General, International Cooperation Department; Mr. Foo Guozhi, Deputy Director General, Tax Policy Department and members of the International Cooperation Department.

At the beginning of the working session, on behalf of the Singapore Ministry of Finance, Second Minister of Finance of Singapore Chee Hong Tat expressed his pleasure to welcome and work with the head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and the working delegation. The Minister also expressed his hope that this visit and working session will be an opportunity to further strengthen and cooperate between the two countries' Ministries of Finance.

Sharing about investment cooperation opportunities between the two countries, especially in the financial sector, Second Minister of Finance of Singapore Chee Hong Tat emphasized that in the coming time, the areas that can promote cooperation and aim to upgrade the relationship between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership include: energy, services, financial services. In addition, the two countries can promote sharing of experiences, good practices, and business investment opportunities.

After a warm welcome from Minister Chee Hong Tat, Minister Ho Duc Phoc expressed his gratitude to Second Minister of Finance of Singapore Chee Hong Tat for taking the time to discuss with the delegation of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam.

On this occasion, Minister Ho Duc Phoc expressed his sincere thanks to the leaders and people of Singapore for sending condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam on the passing of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.

Discussing the cooperative relationship between the two countries' Finance Ministries, Minister Ho Duc Phoc said he was very pleased with the bilateral cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Singapore which has continuously developed and achieved many good, comprehensive and sustainable results in recent times. Singapore has always been an important and special partner of Vietnam in all fields such as economics, trade, investment and finance. In terms of investment, Singapore is the largest FDI investor in Vietnam in the first 6 months of 2024 with a total registered capital of nearly 5.6 billion USD. In terms of trade, Singapore is always in the group of important import-export partners with Vietnam.

“I hope that Vietnam and Singapore will continue to promote potential bilateral cooperation, especially in the financial sector. I also believe that the Minister in particular and the Singaporean Ministry of Finance in general will closely coordinate to facilitate and promote cooperation in the fields of finance, economics, trade and investment to match the good political and foreign relations between the two countries at present, towards the goal of upgrading the Vietnam - Singapore relationship to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in the coming time,” Minister Ho Duc Phoc expressed his hope.

Sharing about Vietnam's macroeconomic situation in recent times, the Minister said: In 2023, Vietnam's economy as well as other economies in the region experienced many difficulties and challenges. However, with the Government's efforts in controlling inflation and promoting growth, Vietnam's economy achieved a growth rate of over 5%, inflation at 3.5%, budget deficit and public debt were well controlled, and the trade balance improved.

In the first 6 months of 2024, Vietnam's economy continued to recover positively with GDP growth in the first half of 2024 reaching 6.42%, much higher than the growth rate in the same period last year (3.84%). Other economic indicators have improved significantly. In particular, registered FDI capital reached 15.2 billion USD, up 13.1% over the same period (FDI capital from Singapore accounted for more than 1/3). This affirms investors' confidence in Vietnam's growth prospects.

Regarding fiscal policy, the Ministry of Finance continues to maintain a flexible fiscal policy, supporting growth, with policies to remove difficulties for businesses and people, and restore and develop the socio-economy. Fiscal policy continues to coordinate closely with monetary policy to stabilize the macro-economy, control inflation, budget deficit and public debt within the scope allowed by the National Assembly. The Ministry of Finance is currently continuing to review to amend, supplement and issue new financial policies and tax laws in accordance with the actual situation, ensuring the implementation of international commitments.

Minister Ho Duc Phoc and Second Minister, Singapore Ministry of Finance Chee Hong Tat take a souvenir photo (Photo: HT)

The Minister also expressed his hope that the Singaporean Ministry of Finance would share more experience related to the modernization of tax and customs management; solutions to protect system security and safety, especially policy mechanisms from the Ministry of Finance to promote and facilitate the modernization of customs and taxes and experience in risk prevention during the modernization process; propose cooperation in training and capacity building for securities management agencies and stock exchanges, including cross-listing and parallel listing; and support the development of carbon credit exchanges...

Thanking Minister Ho Duc Phoc for sharing, Second Minister Chee Hong Tat said that the Singapore Ministry of Finance agreed with Minister Ho Duc Phoc's proposals on promoting cooperation in the fields of tax and customs and will direct and coordinate Singaporean agencies such as MAS and SGX to coordinate with Vietnamese partner agencies to implement the proposed cooperation contents. Singapore also wishes to learn and share experiences from Vietnamese partner agencies to move towards mutually beneficial cooperation and create opportunities for businesses of the two countries.

Regarding Minister Ho Duc Phoc's request for sharing experiences and training human resources, the Singapore Ministry of Finance is very willing to share experiences, information, organize training, and share best practices in management and supervision.

Second Minister Chee Hong Tat said that every year, Singapore sets aside a portion of its budget surplus to invest and increase the government's budget. This fund is managed and invested through the GIC and Temasek groups. These investments have helped bring more budget resources to the Government and benefits to the people as the Government does not have to increase tax rates for people and businesses.

“Vietnam’s investment in developing infrastructure and transport connectivity such as building seaports, airports, and roads will facilitate transportation and connectivity, helping domestic enterprises and import-export activities. In addition, Vietnam has a good opportunity to attract foreign investment when some supply chains in the world are broken,” Second Minister Chee Hong Tat shared./.