Under the MOU, the two sides will host tradedelegations, provide business referrals and organise key industryevents for companies interested in expanding into Vietnam.
TheMOU signing was witnessed by Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore's Minister ofTrade and Industry, and Bui Quang Vinh, Vietnam's Minister of Planningand Investment. The MOU marks the first such collaboration between FIAand a bank.
FIA is the designated agency under Vietnam's Ministryof Planning and Investment that supports FDI into the country andVietnamese companies venturing overseas.
With thesigning of the MOU, the FIA will assist UOB customers that are seekingto expand into key investment destinations in Vietnam such as the maincities of HCM City and Hanoi, as well as the fast-developing cities ofDa Nang, Phu Quoc, Can Tho, and Hai Phong.
Thng TienTat, Executive Director of UOB Vietnam, said the country has become atop investment destination for Asian enterprises looking to expanddeeper into the country to cater to its increasingly affluentpopulation.
The UOB Asian Enterprise Surveyconducted in February and March 2014 among 1,024 Asian enterprises tounderstand how they view challenges and opportunities in the region, hasshown that one in four Asian enterprises plan to expand into Vietnamthis year, making the country one of the top investment destinations inthe region.
"Vietnam's growing urban population iscreating business opportunities for Asian enterprises, especially thosein the manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and oil and gas sectors," hesaid.-VNA