Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khaihosted a reception in Hanoi on June 23 for President and CEO of the Industrial Bankof Korea (IBK) Kim Sung-tae and Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank (KDB) KangSeoghoon who are accompanying President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yoon SukYeol during his ongoing state visit to Vietnam.

Underlining that the Vietnamese Government hopes that withthe lifting up of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, thetwo sides will enter a new glorious chapter of cooperation, Khai saidhe expects RoK businesses, including its banks in Vietnam, will further promotetheir role and support the growth of partnership between the two countries,especially in economy.

Khai took note of the positive contributions of the two banks inconnecting RoK investment and projects in Vietnam, highlighting that recently, the IBK expanded its business in Vietnam with greater attention to small- andmedium-sized enterprises and the renewable energy sector. This is a right way forthe bank in Vietnam, showing the its strong commitment to accompanying withthe Vietnamese economy, matching the current key orientations of the VietnameseGovernment, he said.

The official suggested that the IBK continue to promote its experience andstrengths as well as its role in the SME sector, thuspositively supporting the Vietnam-RoK economic cooperation.

Khai hailed the cooperation of the KDB with the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance,supporting the ministry in seeking suitable operation models for the restructuringof the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB).

For his part, Kang Seoghoon held that althoughthe global economy is facing difficulties, Vietnam has still enjoyedsustainable growth.

Kang said he hopes for a strong partnership with Vietnamesefirms in the fields of high technology, digital transformation, and green energydevelopment for climate change mitigation. He said that the bank expects theformation of a branch in Vietnam to share experience with and supportVietnamese firms to reach out to the world.

IBK Chairman Kim Sung-tae said that he is keen on setting up a bank specialisingin providing financial services to small- and medium-sized enterprises, thusupgrading the ecosystem of the Vietnamese SOEs,contributing to the growth of the ties between the two countries.

Deputy PM Khai said that the RoK is currently the country with the greatestpresence of finance-banking organisations in Vietnam.

He noted that Vietnam is hosting 96 credit institutions andforeign banks’ branches.

Since 2011, Vietnam has been strongly implementing economic restructuring, including that in the financial sector. For the 2021-2025 period, Vietnam aims to restructure thesystem of credit institutions to strengthen the quality and efficiency of thesystem, he said, adding that the country hopes for the positive involvement of RoKfinance-banking organisations in the process.

He underlined that the Vietnamese Government encourages foreignfinance-banking organisations to engage in the restructuring of local creditinstitutions and dealing with banks with weak performance. This will create abundancechances for foreign financial organisations who are keen on establishing presence in Vietnam, he added./.