Vietnam Private Sector Forum Holds First Overseas Consultation in Singapore

The Vietnam Private Sector Forum (VPSF) has held its first international consultation session abroad in Singapore. This event was jointly organized by the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association in collaboration with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and other partners, as part of the ASEAN Conference and ASEANext 2026 Forum. The consultation session took place in Singapore on the afternoon of July 31 (local time), under the theme "Vietnam's Growth Journey and Development Opportunities." It was attended by representatives from management agencies, diplomatic corps, trade promotion organizations, financial institutions, technology corporations, infrastructure development enterprises, and the international investment community. This marks the first time VPSF has expanded its consultation activities overseas, directly receiving perspectives from the regional and global business community on Vietnam's policy environment, investment, and new growth drivers. Speaking at the opening of the consultation, Mr. Victor Ngô Vĩnh Trí, General Director of UOB Vietnam, stated that the ASEAN Conference 2026 dedicating a specialized session to Vietnam demonstrates the growing interest of the regional business community and investors in the development prospects of the Vietnamese economy. Meanwhile, Mr. Vũ Bá Phú, Director General of the Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade), emphasized that Vietnam is facing the imperative to transition from a growth model primarily based on labor, outsourced production, and cost advantages to a model driven by productivity, technology, innovation, and enterprise competitiveness. He noted that opportunities in infrastructure development, logistics, the digital economy, green energy, financial services, and high-tech industries can only be translated into concrete projects through close coordination between management agencies, trade and investment promotion organizations, financial institutions, business associations, and the private sector. Therefore, he added, promotion activities in the new phase must shift strongly from introducing potential to connecting with the right needs, selecting the right partners, and accompanying investors in the process of realizing projects. During the consultation, delegates agreed on five main groups of policy recommendations. Key among these are: continuing institutional breakthroughs towards stability, transparency, and predictability; accelerating the development of strategic and digital infrastructure; expanding public-private partnership (PPP) markets; enhancing the technology absorption capacity of enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones; developing a more competitive and flexible energy market, creating conditions for private investment in energy storage, renewable energy, power grids, and electricity trading mechanisms; and shifting from attracting individual projects to building a complete investment ecosystem. According to Mr. Trần Anh Dũng, Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association, organizing the consultation in Singapore aims to broaden the source of opinions from international investors, corporations, and experts who are directly monitoring and operating in the Vietnamese market. All recommendations from the consultation will be synthesized and analyzed by the organizing committee and included in the report to be submitted to the Government at the VPSF 2026 High-Level Session, aiming for policy proposals that are practical, align with international practices, and are implementable. Source: Nhan Dan