Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái  had talks with President and CEO of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) Kim Sung-tae and Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank (KDB) Kang Seoghoon in Hà Nội on Friday. — Photo from Việt Nam Government Portal

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Lê Minh Khái hosted a reception in Hà Nội on Friday for President and CEO of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) Kim Sung-tae and Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank (KDB) Kang Seoghoon who are accompanying President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yoon Suk Yeol during his ongoing state visit to Việt Nam.

Underlining that the Vietnamese Government hopes that with the lifting up of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the two sides will enter a new glorious chapter of cooperation, Khái said he expected RoK businesses, including its banks in Việt Nam, would further promote their role and support the growth of partnership between the two countries, especially in economy.

Khái took note of the positive contributions of the two banks in connecting RoK investment and projects in Việt Nam, highlighting that recently, the IBK expanded its business in Việt Nam with greater attention to small- and medium-sized enterprises and the renewable energy sector. This was a right way for the bank in Việt Nam, showing its strong commitment to accompanying the Vietnamese economy, matching the current key orientations of the Vietnamese Government, he said.

The official suggested that the IBK continue to promote its experience and strengths as well as its role in the SME sector, thus positively supporting the Việt Nam-RoK economic cooperation.

Khái hailed the cooperation of the KDB with the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, supporting the ministry in seeking suitable operation models for the restructuring of the Việt Nam Development Bank (VDB).

For his part, Kang Seoghoon held that although the global economy was facing difficulties, Việt Nam had still enjoyed sustainable growth.

Kang said he hoped for a strong partnership with Vietnamese firms in the fields of high technology, digital transformation, and green energy development for climate change mitigation. He said that the bank expected the formation of a branch in Việt Nam to share experience with and support Vietnamese firms to reach out to the world.

IBK Chairman Kim Sung-tae said that he was keen on setting up a bank specialising in providing financial services to small- and medium-sized enterprises, thus upgrading the ecosystem of the Vietnamese SOEs, contributing to the growth of the ties between the two countries.

Deputy PM Khái said that the RoK was currently the country with the greatest presence of finance-banking organisations in Việt Nam.

He noted that Việt Nam was hosting 96 credit institutions and foreign banks’ branches.

Since 2011, Việt Nam had been strongly implementing economic restructuring, including that in the financial sector. For the 2021-2025 period, Việt Nam aimed to restructure the system of credit institutions to strengthen the quality and efficiency of the system, he said, adding that the country hopes for the positive involvement of RoK finance-banking organisations in the process.

He underlined that the Vietnamese Government encouraged foreign finance-banking organisations to engage in the restructuring of local credit institutions and dealing with banks with weak performance. This would create abundance of chances for foreign financial organisations who are keen on establishing their presence in Việt Nam, he added. — VNS