Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue unveiled advantages in investing in Vietnam during a meeting in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (RoK) with local securities investors at the headquarters of the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) on June 20. 

 

Hue noted that the RoK is now the biggest investor and the third largest trade partner of Vietnam. The two countries set the goal of raising two-way trade to 100 billion USD by 2020. 

 

With high economic growth, low inflation, macro-economic stability, Vietnam will soon announce a foreign investment attraction strategy for the next decade with attention paid to high and eco-friendly technology, the environment, health care and connectivity with Vietnamese firms, he said. 

 

The revised Investment Law and Corporate Law will be submitted to the National Assembly later this year while the Securities Law will also be considered by the legislature during the upcoming session, with amendments to policies favourable for foreign investors. 

 

The Deputy PM announced that Vietnam will issue policies to lure more capital into the securities market, including issuing government-guaranteed shares. The Hanoi Stock Exchange and Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange will be merged to better facilitate transactions. 

 

He pledged that the Vietnamese government will create favourable conditions for RoK investors, and hope that more of them will arrive in the country. 

 

KOFIA Chairman Kwon Yong-won said roughly 7,000 RoK companies are operating in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 62.2 billion USD. 

 

Last year, RoK firms poured 4.5 billion USD into Vietnamese securities market, more than doubling the figure in 2008. Several RoK financial companies are also joining in Vietnam’s infrastructure projects. 

 

During a working session the same day with the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the Vietnamese Deputy PM asked the FKI to encourage its members to invest in Vietnam in fields of battery, food processing, information technology, environment, health care, environment protection and equitisation of State-owned enterprises. 

 

He said the Vietnamese government wants to attract more foreign investment in modern and eco-friendly technology in line with the country’s economic restructuring orientations. 

 

FKI Chairman Chang Soo-huh said Vietnam is an indispensable and important partner of the RoK in its New Southern Policy. 

 

During his working trip to the RoK, Deputy PM Hue also received leaders of several banks and financial companies, and Hyundai Vietnam and Samsung Vietnam in Seoul. 

 

Executives of Shinhan Financial Group and Alliex company expressed their interest in investing in intermediary and cashless payment, and peer-to-peer lending in Vietnam. 

 

Shinhan Chairman revealed an ambition to become the leading financial group in Vietnam in the near future. Meanwhile, KDB and IBK banks want to set up branches in the country. 

 

The Deputy PM informed them that Vietnam plans to designate June 16 every year as Cashless Day and has assigned agencies concerned to build legal framework for the use of telecom accounts for payment and develop digital banks. 

 

As Vietnam is restructuring financial and banking system, the government will not license the establishment of foreign-invested banks until the end of 2020, Hue said, recommending that RoK banks could consider buying restructured banks such as Ocean Bank, GP Bank and CBank or a financial company. 

 

Receiving Jin Hyng-chung, Hyundai Vice Chairman in charge of Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E & C) Company, Hue spoke highly of the group’s infrastructure projects in Vietnam and suggested the company should prepare documents to participate in international bidding for the eastern section of the north – south highway. 

 

The same day, the leader held a working session with Vinacapital and several Korean enterprises about investment issues. -VNA