Viet Nam will work closely with South Korea to foster trade and investment, a conference heard in HCM City on July 22.
Nguyen Phu Binh, chairman of the Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese (ALOV), said South Korea is one of Viet Nam’s top investors, and has projects spanning the country and in a wide variety of industries.
Kwon Sung-Taek, deputy chairman of the Korea & Viet Nam Economic and Cultural Association (KOVECA), said the two countries’ economic co-operation has been the biggest achievement in their 30 years of bilateral ties.
Korea’s trade with Viet Nam is equal to its combined trade with the other nine ASEAN member countries, he said.
Korean businesses are interested in Viet Nam’s abundance of affordable and young workforce and rapid digital transformation, he said.
Viet Nam is among the top investment destinations for businesses moving away from China, and many Korean companies are interested in doing technology transfer with Viet Nam, he said.
“Efforts from both sides are needed to facilitate investment. Korean businesses need to research Viet Nam carefully, while Viet Nam needs to be more transparent in its policies.
“KOVECA will continue to promote Viet Nam to attract more Korean investors to the country.”
Nguyen Minh Lam, deputy chairman of the Long An People’s Committee, said the province -- which is adjacent to HCM City and has favourable conditions for trade - welcomes foreign investors, especially Korean.
There are 209 Korean projects in the province with a total investment of around US$900 million, making Korea the second largest foreign investor in Long An, and they have been operating efficaciously, he said.
Long An has been organising networking events for Korean businesses to facilitate trade and investment, and focusing on traffic infrastructure to boost connectivity with HCM City and provinces, he said.
The province is interested in Korean businesses that specialise in waste and wastewater treatment, he said.
Other provinces’ leaders also commended Korean businesses’ expertise in waste treatment.
Nguyen Thi Hoang, deputy chairwoman of the Dong Nai People’s Committee, said her province has a high urbanisation rate and is struggling with wastewater treatment, and wants to tie up with Korean partners.
Dong Nai has around $7 billion worth of Korean projects, and is building new industrial parks to attract more foreign investment, she said.
At the conference, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai and Long An provinces signed memorandums of understanding with ALOV, KOVECA, the Viet Nam National Startup Investment Fund, and the Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank to create conditions to attract Korean investment.
At a conference at the forum, several of Viet Nam’s provinces solicited Korean investment. — VNS Photo Viet Dung
The conference was held under the Viet Nam - Korea Cooperation Forum to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The forum, to go on until today in HCM City and tomorrow in Ha Noi, aims to connect the overseas Vietnamese community with business opportunities in Viet Nam, and help Vietnamese companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, explore business opportunities in South Korea.
South Korea has invested $74.7 billion in 9,223 projects in Viet Nam and is the third largest trade partner, with two-way turnover being worth $78 billion last year.
The two sides aim to increase their trade to $100 billion by 2023 and $150 billion by 2030.
Thirty Korean business groups and thousands of businesses are taking part in the forum. — VNS