PetroVietnam's oil rig in Dai Hung oil field. (Source: pvn.vn)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) has said thatit has agreed to open a 2 billion USD credit line to Vietnam’s State-ownedVietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in a bid to help more Korean companiesventure into the fast-growing economy.
Yonhapnews agency cited the Korean bank that the deal would help Korean companies winmore deals for Vietnam's massive infrastructure-building projects.
The dealfollowed the first dialogue on economic cooperation at deputy prime ministerlevel between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Vietnam in Seoul last week, whereVietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and his Korean counterpart HongNam Ki agreed to expand cooperation in oil and gas and power production.
At thedialogue, the two sides agreed on a number of cooperation initiatives andcontents in trade-investment; finance-banking and development cooperation;infrastructure, construction and energy; industry, agriculture,science-technology and information and communication technology; healthcare andlabour.
The twosides agreed to strengthen coordination to improve bilateral trade, includingmeasures to reduce Vietnam’s trade deficit with the RoK and increase Vietnameseexport of products to the market.
The twosides reached agreements to deal with obstacles facing businesses of bothsides, while increasing Korean investment in prioritised areas of Vietnam.
Reportsfrom the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment showed the RoK’s firmsregistered to invest 64.7 billion USD in Vietnam as of May 20, of which morethan 2.6 billion USD was posted in the first five months of this year.
Currently,7,000 Korean firms are operating in Vietnam, including big names such asSamsung, LG, Hyundai, Lotte and Daewoo, while some 50,000 Vietnamese areworking in the RoK.
The RoKis Vietnam's second-largest trading partner, with trade revenue of about 68.3 billion USD last year, while Vietnam is the RoK’s fourth-largest tradingpartner.-VNS/VNA
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