The opening ceremony of the Việt Nam - Korea Cooperation Forum in HCM City on July 22 to mark the 30th anniversary of the setting up of bilateral diplomatic ties. – VNS Photo Việt Dũng

HCM CITY – Việt Nam will work closely with South Korea to foster trade and investment, a conference heard in HCM City yesterday (July 22).

Nguyễn Phú Bình, chairman of the Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese (ALOV), said South Korea is one of Việt 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 & Việt 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 Việt Nam is equal to its combined trade with the other nine ASEAN member countries, he said.

Korean businesses are interested in Việt Nam’s abundance of affordable and young workforce and rapid digital transformation, he said.

Việt Nam is among the top investment destinations for businesses moving away from China, and many Korean companies are interested in doing technology transfer with Việt Nam, he said.

“Efforts from both sides are needed to facilitate investment. Korean businesses need to research Việt Nam carefully, while Việt Nam needs to be more transparent in its policies.

“KOVECA will continue to promote Việt Nam to attract more Korean investors to the country.”

Nguyễn Minh Lâm, 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.

Nguyễn Thị Hoàng, deputy chairwoman of the Đồng 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.

Đồng 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, Khánh Hòa, Đồng Nai and Long An provinces signed memorandums of understanding with ALOV, KOVECA, the Việt 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 Việt Nam’s provinces solicited Korean investment. – VNS Photo Việt Dũng

The conference was held under the Việt 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 Hà Nội, aims to connect the overseas Vietnamese community with business opportunities in Việt 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 Việt 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