SaigonTel General Director Nguyễn Cẩm Phương speaks at the Baekdu Forum 2022. — Photo dangcongsan.vn

QUẢNG NAM — A forum was held in the central province of Quảng Nam to support small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Republic of Korea (RoK) to expand investment and business opportunities in Việt Nam.

The Baekdu Forum 2022 was jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KBIZ) with the support of the Saigon Telecommunication & Technologies Corporation (SaigonTel).

With reasonable labour costs and efforts in bilateral trade agreements, Việt Nam is expected to be a suitable option for Korean firms in the time ahead, said SaigonTel General Director Nguyễn Cẩm Phương.

Việt Nam is now a safe, attractive destination for investors from 141 countries and territories, with more than 34,000 projects worth some US$400 billion. 

Phương stressed that the RoK remains the leading investor in the Southeast Asian nation and ranks second in trade, with revenue reaching about $90 billion this year.

The RoK is the biggest source of tourists visiting Việt Nam, Phương said, adding the two sides have seen in-depth collaboration in other spheres like banking-finance, infrastructure, transport, IT, science-technology, agro-forestry-fishery, education-training, culture and people-to-people exchange.

Việt Nam had been named among the world’s top 20 host economies for foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first time in 2020 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), she noted.

SaigonTel wishes to continue working as a bridge for Korean investors in Việt Nam, helping the country integrate more intensively in the regional and global supply chains and corporate ecosystems, Phương said.

According to KBIZ Chairman Kim Ki-mun, the two-way trade skyrocketed from nearly $500 million in 1992 when Việt Nam and the RoK established diplomatic ties to around $90 billion at present.

The 8,800 Korean firms operating in Việt Nam are SMEs. Meanwhile, in the RoK, SMEs make up more than 99 per cent of the total businesses and employ up to 90 per cent of the workforce.

He said that the federation is closely coordinating with the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment to create optimal conditions and offer incentives to Korean SMEs in Việt Nam in various fields. — VNS