Firms from the Republic of Korea (RoK) have asked Vietnam to improve its infrastructure along with creating better conditions for overseas investors.

Vietnam especially needs to improve its transport network, which includes opening more direct international flight routes as well as increasing the number of domestic flights in order to facilitate investment projects, said the RoK companies at a workshop on investment opportunities in Vietnam, held in Seoul, the RoK, on Nov. 25.

The Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK, Pham Tien Van, confirmed that after 20 years of Doi Moi (the renewal process) and having made many significant economic achievements, Vietnam has become an attractive destination for the international business community.

The Vietnamese government has also paid a lot of attention to attracting investment in supporting industries – a huge potential area, he added.

He answered a number of queries raised by RoK businesses on Vietnam ’s administrative procedures and its financial regulations.

At the workshop, representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Planning and Investment gave presentations on the opportunities that Vietnam holds for potential investors, how the country’s infrastructure and its human resources are being developed, as well giving a run down on the country’s priority policies for foreign investments.

Later, representatives from the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Phu Tho gave a briefing on their provinces’ development potential and called for closer ties in industry, particularly in engineering, transport services, education and training, mining for minerals and steel production.

During the workshop, the Kinh Bac Company from Bac Ninh province signed a contract worth 30 million USD with a RoK partner to build a satellite factory for Samsung Electronics, which has just put into operation a factory to manufacture mobile phones in the province.

With the theme, Vietnam – an opportunity for investment in industry, the workshop drew more than 170 representatives from the RoK’s business community plus investors, information agencies and trade promotions and investment organisations./.