Over 100 entrepreneurs from Viet Nam and South Korea gathered at a business conference held in the capital this week to seek new co-operation opportunities.

Since 2011, South Korea has retained its position as Viet Nam’s leading source of foreign direct investment, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung told the conference.

Korean firms had made an effective contribution to speeding up the country’s economic growth and generating thousands of local jobs, he said.

In terms of trade, Tung said, South Korea is now the second largest trade partner of Viet Nam, just behind China, while Viet Nam is Korea’s fourth biggest trade partner.

Beside trade and investment, Tung also described the entertainment industry as a promising area for bilateral co-operation as Viet Nam’s entertainment market was projected to achieve growth of 10.7 per cent.

Lee Soo Man, chairman of SM Entertainment – one of the leading companies in the field in South Korea, said the two countries had many similarities.

“With a young population, 65 per cent of whom are under the age of 35, it’s realisable for Viet Nam to build a successful entertainment market that can help accelerate domestic economic growth as South Korea has done,” Lee said.

SM Entertainment has been drawing up plans to find local partners to develop this lucrative market, he said.

Notably, in November, his company will set up an affiliate and organise programmes to seek new talents.

The conference also saw the launch of the Korean Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Network which aims to better faciliate co-operation among the two business communities. — VNS