Mr Lim Hng Kiang at the Opening Ceremony of the High Speed Bottling Line, Vietnam Brewery Limited, 27 Aug 2010

Opening Address by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade & Industry, Singapore at the Opening Ceremony of the High Speed Bottling Line, Vietnam Brewery Limited, Danang on Friday, 27 August 2010 at 4.30 pm (Singapore time)

His Excellency Nguyen Ba Thanh, Party Secretary of Danang People’s Committee,

His Excellency Nguyen Cam Tu, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade, Vietnam,

Mr Christopher Edward Kidd, Regional Director of Asia Pacific Breweries Limited,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

It is my pleasure to join you at the Opening Ceremony of the High Speed Bottling Line of Vietnam Brewery Limited, Danang (VBL Danang).

Strong and Thriving Business Linkages

Today’s event is an excellent showcase of the strong and thriving business linkages between Singaporean and Vietnamese companies. It also reflects the confidence of Singapore’s private sector in Vietnam’s long-term economic prospects.

Our strong business linkages are underpinned by the ever-deepening economic relations between our countries. Bilateral trade and investment have grown from strength to strength. In 2009, Singapore was Vietnam’s 5th largest trading partner and 5th largest foreign investor. As of April 2010, Singapore’s private sector has invested in more than 800 projects worth nearly US$18 billion in a wide range of sectors and in various provinces of Vietnam.

Singapore companies’ interest to participate in Vietnam’s economy is strong and growing. In the last 6 months, our economic agency, International Enterprise Singapore or IE Singapore, has organized and supported more than a dozen business missions and seminars to explore market opportunities in Vietnam. Singapore companies are interested to participate in various sectors of Vietnam’s economy such as urban infrastructure, hospitality, chemical processing, education and modern services. Since its implementation in early 2006, the Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Framework has been an effective bilateral economic framework that has successfully facilitated several private sector projects, and directly or indirectly contributed towards approximately US$9 billion worth of Singapore’s registered investments into Vietnam.

Milestone for Asia Pacific Breweries and Vietnam Brewery Limited

This event too marks another successful milestone for Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) and Vietnam Brewery Limited (VBL).

APB is a well-established Singapore company which founded its first 100%-owned brewery in 1931. APB is synonymous with the “Tiger Beer” name, having launched the brand in Singapore in 1932.Today, the company's list of local brews includes Tiger beer, Heineken, Anchor beer, Baron's Strong Brew, Guinness Stout and ABC Stout.

Over the decades, APB has also established a strong presence in the region. In Vietnam, APB has a long and successful business track-record dating back to the mid-1980s when Tiger beer was first exported to Vietnam. The company was one of the early Singapore-based companies that had ventured into Vietnam since the start of the “Doi Moi” policy.

VBL was established in 1991, through a 60/40 joint venture between APB and Saigon Trading Corporation (SATRA), the trading arm of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).The flagship Hoc Mon Brewery in HCMC was commissioned in 1993.Since then, VBL has expanded and established itself as a leading brewery group in Vietnam. Today, VBL Group’s operations consist of four breweries and a logistics company, with a geographical reach from Hue province in Central Vietnam to South Vietnam.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of VBL Group, VBL Danang is an established foreign-invested company and is known for its Larue beer that has over 100 years of heritage in Vietnam. Following the company’s rapid market expansion, Larue is now available in over 40 provinces in Vietnam with a healthy volume growth of 25% and 50% in 2009 and 2010 respectively. The numerous accolades and awards that VBL Danang has received over the years are testimony of its achievements.

Conclusion

In closing, I would like to thank the Vietnamese government and Danang leaders and officials for their continued support for Singapore companies’ participation in Vietnam’s economic growth. I am confident that the linkages between Singaporean and Vietnamese business communities will continue to deepen and bring about more economic benefits for our countries.

I also extend my heartiest congratulations to the management and staff of APB and VBL on the opening of the High Speed Bottling Line of Vietnam Brewery Limited, Danang.

I wish APB and VBL every success in their business ventures. Thank you.