A financial investment promotion conference in the Republic of Korea themed "Vietnam - Investment Destination" in Seoul on March 7. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Seoul (VNA) – The goal of raising two-way trade between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) to 150 billion USD in a balanced and sustainable direction by 2030 is reachable, said Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc.
Speaking at a financial investment promotion conference in the RoK themed "Vietnam - Investment Destination" in Seoul on March 7, Phoc said that the ministry is committed to accompanying and creating favourable conditions for partners, businesses, and investors of the two countries to seek investment and cooperation opportunities, and invest and expand their investment scale in Vietnam.
Vietnam is the RoK’s third largest trade partner, with two-way trade hitting nearly 80 billion USD last year. The RoK ranks first among the foreign investors in Vietnam, with 9,863 investment projects totaling around 90 billion USD and over 8,000 companies operating in the Southeast Asian nation.
Last year, Vietnam also welcomed more than 3.5 million Korean holidaymakers, and there are currently 180,000 Koreans living in the country.
Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc (Photo: VietnamPlus)
The minister said he believes the goal of raising two-way trade to 150 billion USD in a balanced and sustainable direction by 2030 is reachable.
To achieve that goal, the Ministry of Finance is coordinating with the Korean Embassy in Vietnam to organise a yearly policy dialogue conference on the financial sector to listen to Korean businesses and investors, join in tackling their problems, and create favourable conditions for them to run business in Vietnam.
Upgrading Vietnam’s stock market
Regarding Vietnam’s stock market, Phoc highlighted the rapid development of the market, which had a capitalisation value of nearly 270 billion USD, equivalent to nearly 63% of the GDP.
He cited Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's pledge at a conference on the stock market development in late February to develop a transparent, safe, effective and sustainable stock market and to ensure legitimate rights and interests of stakeholders.
Kim Yong-Jae, Standing Commissioner of the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC), said that in the financial sector, Vietnam ranks second in the world in terms of the presence of RoK financial institutions, with 46 in the fields of banking, insurance, and securities.
Standing Commissioner of the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) Kim Yong-Jae speaks at the conference. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
He said that Vietnam has achieved incredible economic growth over a long period as the country's average annual growth in the past 20 years reached 6.29%.
Recently, Vietnam also recorded a high economic growth rate in the context of a stagnant world economy.
The economic growth is a result of the efforts the Vietnamese Government and the people have made together with decisive investment of international businesses, he said.
Kim shared that large Korean corporations and businesses such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai recognise Vietnam's growth potential and have reaped rewards after investing early in the Vietnamese market. Korean financial institutions are also investing in Vietnam in many different forms such as establishing legal entities, and mergers and acquisitions.
According to Kim, the Korean economy has entered a mature stage, with population ageing, which makes investing in promising Vietnamese businesses a great alternative to overcoming the decline in investment yields of Korean companies and financial institutions.
At the same time, this investment process will become a solid stepping stone to further strengthen the driving force for Vietnam's economic growth, he stressed./.
