Top Singaporean firms earn high incomes in Vietnam

Singapore is the second-biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, with over $84 billion in registered investment capital as of end-January and many prominent investors raking in high incomes.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage

Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC&C) reported a revenue of $22.3 billion in 2024 and the figure for the Vietnamese market was $103 million.

In Vietnam, JC&C holds a 26.6% stake in Vietnamese conglomerate Thaco, 10.6% in dairy giant Vinamilk, and 41.4% in Ho Chi Minh City-based utility firm Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE).

Regarding its operation in Vietnam last year, JC&C said it gained an income of $39 million from Thaco activities, thanks to the Vietnamese conglomerate's automobile sales going up 10%.

The income from REE fell due to unfavorable weather conditions leading to weaker performance of hydropower activities. JC&C gained dividends of $34 million from Vinamilk.

Fraser and Neave

Fraser and Neave (F&N), a Thai-Singaporean conglomerate in food, beverage, publishing, and printing, earned SGD21 million ($15.5 million) in Vietnam in the last quarter of 2024 (Q1 of fiscal year 2025).

According to F&N’s quarterly report, F&N recorded a profit before interest and tax (PBIT) of SGD91.1 million ($67.4 million) in the period, up 14% year-on-year. Vietnam accounted for 23% of the total, equivalent to SGD21 million.

F&N was originally a Singapore-based food & beverage giant. After a share swap deal in 2024 with Thailand’s giant ThaiBev, it became an entity associated with Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

F&N and its members now holds a 20% stake in Vietnamese dairy giant Vinamilk. F&N gained massive dividends from Vinamilk, totaling VND15 trillion ($585.6 million) since 2013.

Grab

In terms of revenue, Grab is now the biggest player in Vietnam's ride-hailing market with an income of VND4 trillion ($156.34 million) in 2023. While the firm has been recording massive losses in many years, 2023 was a milestone as it gained a profit in the year. Grab expects it would record profits from the Vietnamese market in 2024.

The Q1/2024 edition of "The Connected Consumer) report, conducted by market researcher Decision Lab, showed that Grab is the biggest ride-hailing firm in Vietnam regarding the market share.

Two major competitors are Vietnamese firms, namely Be and Green and Smart Mobility (GSM). GSM is well-known for its utilization of electric vehicles (EV) brand VinFast.

Sea Group

Sea Group, a tech giant in Southeast Asia, is popular for its Shopee e-commerce market and Garena gaming platform.

Top e-commerce sites in Vietnam, namely Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada, Tiki, and Sendo, earned a total revenue of VND318.9 trillion ($12.62 billion) in 2024, up 37.4% year-on-year, according to local e-commerce analyzer Metric.

Tencent-affiliated Shopee accounted for the biggest portion of 64%, according to local market analyzer Metric. Shopee was followed by TikTok Shop with 29% and Alibaba-affiliated Lazada with 6%. Tiki and Sendo, two domestic ones, accounted for the remaining 1%.

Keppel

Keppel has been investing in real estate in Vietnam for over three decades. Its portfolio in Vietnam now has 2.58 million square meters, featuring 14,023 units. As of end-2024, it launched 6,527 units and sold 4,892 units.

In late September 2024, Keppel said it would sell 70% of its stake at Saigon Sports City Limited, the operator of its 64-hectare real estate project in District 2, a prime location in Ho Chi Minh City.

Jencity Limited, a subsidiary of Keppel, is set to sell a 35% stake to HTV Dai Phuoc Company Limited and another 35% to Vinobly Investment Real Estate JSC, Keppel said.

The transaction is subject to some conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Sembcorp

Singapore’s Sembcorp and Vietnam’s Becamex will add two more Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) projects to its portfolio, raising the total in Vietnam to 20.

In an announcement earlier this month, Sembcorp said the two new IPs are the $88 million VSIP Nam Dinh in the northern province of Nam Dinh and the $53 million VSIP Nghe An III in the central province of Nghe An. Each project covers 180 hectares.

Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture Co. (VSIP), the developer of VSIP industrial parks, recorded a post-tax profit of VND1,703 billion ($66.9 million) in 2023, down 24.6% year-on-year.

Sembcorp also invests in energy in Vietnam. In August 2024, Sembcorp said its subsidiary Sembcorp Industries spent SGD174 million ($131.1 million) on the acquisitions of majority interests in three out of four renewable energy subsidiaries of Vietnamese conglomerate Gelex.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is on an official visit to Vietnam from March 25-26. The trip followed the establishment of Vietnam-Singapore comprehensive strategic partnershipc earlier this month.

Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh and PM Wong on Wednesday witnessed the signing of many cooperation deals between agencies and enterprises of the two countries.