Business matchmaking is a way that Vietnam tries to enable foreign investors to find investment opportunities in the country, especially those from Singapore. 

Visitors at the Singapore Pavilion, NEPCON Vietnam held in Hanoi on Sept 14-16. Photos: AEIS

An executive of the Association of Electronic Industries in Singapore (AEIS) shared the idea following the conclusion [in mid-September] of NEPCON Vietnam, an Electronic Trade Show held in Hanoi providing ground for the latest technologies introduction and global innovators. 

NEPCON Vietnam is an example of a tradeshow connecting manufacturers and consumers in the electronics market, a stalwart of the Asian electronics market, to promote business matching on a physical and digital level, AEIS Executive Director Eileen Ang said in an interview with The Hanoi Times. 

“As a key connector taking part in NEPCON Vietnam’s 2022 outing, AEIS, Singapore’s leading electronics trade association, has taken the reins to ensure that Singapore’s electronics businesses can find customers in kind in Vietnam,” Ang said. 

She argued that the connection between manufacturing and consumer fronts in the electronics market had been established to a greater degree and fruitful B2B connections remain essential to drive the market forward. 

For that reason, she stressed the importance of physical tradeshows, calling them the premier platforms for electronics businesses to capture the attention of potential leads that visit their booths and drive up their market share. 

NEPCON Vietnam was resumed after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and is believed to allow travelers to connect with exhibitors through a hybrid approach to tap into the ever-growing digital crowd.  

Statistics show that 92% of people visit trade shows to learn more about new products and services in the market. “Of these tradeshow attendees, we expect 30% to 40% to be in upper management or technical roles. This proves that physical tradeshows hold their own in a digital world,” Ang noted. 

Regarding the event held on September 14-16 in Hanoi, AEIS proved to be a pivotal vassal to NEPCON Vietnam in helping to organize and host the Singapore Pavilion section of the tradeshow. Representing and helming 20 exhibiting companies, AEIS played an instrumental role in connecting visiting Vietnamese decision makers with these exhibitors to ensure more remarkable progress for the Singaporean and Vietnamese electronic industries.

From left down: AEIS Executive Director Eileen Ang; Bay Kim Meng, Business Development Country Manager, ASMPT; Jack Eng, MD, Soda Vision Pte Ltd; and  Eleanor Tan, Sales Director, Holy Stone Holdings (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

 Successful presence 

In addition to the opportunity to exhibit at the tradeshow, AEIS did video interviews and hosted special conferences for members. 

Exhibitors at the Singapore Pavilion were optimistic about the fair and its presentable business opportunities in conversations with The Hanoi Times. 

Chia, Sales Manager, Fujipoly Singapore Pte Ltd, said: “For NEPCON Vietnam, it allows our company to market company branding to the Hanoi market. It creates brand visibility and product awareness to the visitors.” 

He said the event gave them the opportunity to meet new customers and existing ones, highlighting the role of AEIS during the event and the meaning of the Singapore Pavilion. “Working with an association gives us a better publicity approach to reach out to our target audience in Vietnam.” 

Jack Eng, MD, Soda Vision Pte Ltd, was pleased with the crowd and audience in NEPCON Vietnam 2022, saying it is his pleasure to speak with new and old customers. “As the pandemic has taken two years of physical events from us, we are pleased and glad to be exhibiting this year and meeting visitors in person. We look forward to exhibiting in more exhibitions and making new connections in Vietnam!”  

Eng said AEIS aids them in coordinating with the NEPCON Vietnam organizer to ensure that things are in order. In addition, AEIS also provides them with a few marketing efforts to boost the exposure of Singapore companies in Vietnam which is highly appreciated.  

Echoing Jack Eng, Eleanor Tan, Sales Director, Holy Stone Holdings (Singapore) Pte Ltd, was delighted to participate in NEPCON Vietnam 2022. “We met the expectations of our stakeholders by heightening our brand visibility and awareness to a continuous audience. In this way, we gathered many a useful lead and hoped to create a lasting relationship with new, potential customers.” 

At the same time, being part of the SG Pavilion brought their great firm exposure and positively impacted their brand. “We look forward to participating again next year!” 

Meanwhile, Bay Kim Meng, Business Development Country Manager, ASMPT, said that as ASMPT’s newest business development country manager, he found the tradeshow quite in line with what they wish to accomplish at ASMPT. “Given our desire to be smart and autonomous in the digital transformation era 4.0, NEPCON Vietnam provided a great platform to transform customers’ factories into smart factories of the future.” 

“I have spent a large part of my career with ASMPT and can tell you it is tradeshows like NEPCON Vietnam that make or break the electronics industry. We hope we can expand our horizons with new customers and leads in the coming months,” he stated.

The Singapore Pavilion attracts a large number of visitors.

Prospects

In all, NEPCON 2022 saw great success with hundreds of business connections made, Eileen Ang said, noting that AEIS gathered the feedback of its exhibitors and plans to use the data to plan a successful NEPCON 2023.

In this way, key electronics industry players can continue to connect and establish themselves as insiders in the long run of the digital 4.0 era.

AEIS and the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association (VEIA) plan to develop more programs to further enhance the leads collected during the show. More information will be released once the program is firmed up.

Eileen Ang highly appreciated VEIA, calling AEIS-VEIA relations remarkable regarding both associations wanting to promote successful business connections between Singaporean and Vietnamese electronic companies. They coordinated the first day of the NEPCON Vietnam conference about the SG pavilion with this mutual aim.

They will work closely to improve relationships between the Singapore and Vietnamese electronics markets and firms. In January 2022, VEIA and AEIS signed an MOU to strengthen the relationship for both association members.

Ang took Singapore’s direct investment in Vietnam as fruitful cooperation. As of the end of 2021, Singapore ranked as the second biggest investor in Vietnam, with a total capital commitment of $67.5 billion, behind South Korea.

In the first three quarters of this year, Singapore topped the investors in Vietnam with US$4.75 billion, accounting for 25.3% of the total investment in the nine-month period, followed by South Korea with $3.8 billion, and Japan ranked third with $1.9 billion, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment.

With such figures, Singapore is well-positioned to do business with Vietnam in the electronics sector, Ang emphasized.