Vietnam - Singapore connection opens the way for small and medium enterprises

In the past 8 months, Vietnam - Singapore trade reached nearly 26 billion SGD, up more than 23% over the same period. This result opens up opportunities for Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMBs) to expand into the region, but there are still legal, cost and technological barriers.

In early 2025, Vietnam and Singapore upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade , in the first 8 months of 2025, two-way trade turnover reached about 25.9 billion SGD (equivalent to more than 19 billion USD), an increase of 23.3% over the same period in 2024. Of which, exports from Singapore to Vietnam reached 18.3 billion SGD (an increase of 18.4%), while imports from Vietnam to Singapore reached 7.6 billion SGD (an increase of 36.9%).

Convenient global payments will help SMB businesses expand their trade to the region.

If only counting goods of actual origin, Vietnam has a trade surplus of more than SGD 2.56 billion with Singapore. In August 2025 alone, two-way trade turnover reached nearly SGD 2.9 billion, with stable growth in both exports and imports.

In that context, Singapore is considered a “gateway” for Vietnamese businesses to enter the region. Along with opportunities are barriers in legal procedures, operating costs, limited access to capital and difficulties in cross-border payments. International reports show that 44% of SMBs consider business costs as the biggest challenge, while 46% face obstacles in unstable financial performance.

Mr. David Nguyen Vu, Chairman of VietCham Singapore, commented: “Vietnamese SMEs not only need support in legal compliance but also need to be connected with the right partners and resources. The participation of the private sector will complement the Government ’s efforts, contributing to deepening the Vietnam-Singapore relationship.”

To overcome the difficulties, many organizations are coordinating to implement support initiatives. In particular, the cooperation between VietCham Singapore and global payment platform Payoneer is considered a typical example. VietCham focuses on legal support, connecting investment funds and consulting on market penetration strategies, while Payoneer provides cross-border payment solutions in more than 190 countries at low costs.

The formation of supportive ecosystems helps reduce barriers for small businesses when penetrating competitive global markets. Illustration photo

Besides the Payoneer solution, Vietnamese businesses can also choose many other payment methods to make it more convenient to operate in Singapore. One of the notable channels is PayNow and NETS, a fast payment system using QR code that is being piloted between NAPAS (Vietnam) and Singapore. When widely deployed, this form promises to help businesses significantly reduce costs and transaction time.

In addition, the development of multi-currency fintech platforms such as Instarem, Airwallex or Sunrate also offers flexible options. These services provide multi-currency accounts with lower conversion fees than traditional banks, suitable for SMBs that do not have a legal entity in Singapore but need to transact cross-border frequently.

For large, long-term contracts, businesses can still rely on the Singapore banking system such as DBS, OCBC or UOB. This is a safe and reputable payment channel, but it comes with the requirement to open a local business account and quite high foreign currency conversion costs.

Meanwhile, e-wallets and international payment gateways such as PayPal, NETS or UnPAY are popular among global customers. They are easy to access and convenient for e-commerce transactions, but businesses need to consider because the fees and costs of withdrawing money to Vietnam are still high.

“Singapore is the natural launching pad for Vietnamese businesses’ journey to the global stage. Our role is to help them overcome practical barriers, from payments to international cash flow management,” said Mr. Vu Ai Viet, Payoneer Country Director in Vietnam.

Therefore, the emergence of supporting ecosystems, along with new payment connections between Vietnam and Singapore, will help SMBs reduce the burden of costs and procedures and access foreign markets more easily. As the economic relationship between the two countries deepens, many similar public-private partnership models are expected to emerge, creating momentum for SMBs to boldly step out into the region and the world.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/ket-noi-viet-singapore-mo-loi-cho-doanh-nghiep-nho-va-vua-20250923115546770.htm