PetroVietnam's oil rig in Đại Hùng oil field. Photo  pvn.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Export-Import Bank of Korea said on Sunday that it has agreed to open a US$2 billion credit line to Việt Nam’s State-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in a bid to help more South Korean companies venture into the fast-growing economy.

Yonhap news agency cited the Korean bank that the deal would help South Korean companies win more deals for Việt Nam's massive infrastructure-building projects.

The deal followed the first dialogue on economic cooperation at deputy prime minister level between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Việt Nam in Seoul last week, where Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ and RoK’s Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam Ki agreed to expand co-operation in oil and gas and power production.

At the dialogue, the two sides agreed on a number of co-operation initiatives and contents in trade-investment; finance-banking and development cooperation; infrastructure, construction and energy; industry, agriculture, science-technology and information and communication technology; healthcare and labour.

The two sides agreed to strengthen coordination to improve bilateral trade, including measures to reduce Việt Nam’s trade deficit with the RoK and increase Vietnamese export of products to the market.

The two sides reached agreements to deal with obstacles facing businesses of both sides, while increasing RoK investment in prioritised areas of Việt Nam.

Reports from the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment showed RoK’s firms registered to invest US$64.7 billion in Việt Nam as of May 20, of which more than $2.6 billion was posted in the first five months of this year.

Currently, 7,000 RoK firms are operating in Việt Nam, including big names such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Lotte and Daewoo, while some 50,000 Vietnamese are working in the RoK.

South Korea is Việt Nam's second-largest trading partner, with annual trade revenue of about $66 billion, while Việt Nam is South Korea's fourth-largest trading partner. — VNS