An earphone production line at the RoK-invested Glonics Vietnam Company in Thai Nguyen province.(Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - A quarter-century of diplomaticrelations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea has yielded impressiveprogress, especially in investment and trade, said Kim Jaehong, Chairman of theKorea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) at the Vietnam-Korea BusinessPartnership Forum held on November 10 in Hanoi.
“Bilateral trade in the first three quarters of this year reached 47.2 billionUSD and we expect that the figure for the whole year will exceed 50 billion USD,increasing by 100 times from 0.5 billion USD in 1992,” Jaehong said.
Investment by Korean firms in Vietnam has also increased significantly, risingto 55.8 billion USD as of September, making it the largest foreign investor inVietnam, he added.
On the occasion of the APEC 2017 Summit held in Da Nang and on the occasion ofthe 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea, theKorean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the KoreaTrade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) co-organised the Vietnam-KoreaBusiness Partnership Forum, hoping the event would create opportunities forbusinesses of the two countries to co-operate in trade, technology, supportingindustries, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), intellectual property rightsand social responsibility, he said.
Jaehong also said there were many Korean businesses interested in M&A dealsin Vietnam. He hopes that the two countries can co-operate well in M&Aactivities, through which the two sides can collaborate in technology transferand joint venture investment.
“I also expect the two sides can co-operate in services and education,” Jaehongadded. “I believe that the co-operation between the RoK and Vietnam in allfields will significantly contribute to the development of the two countries.”
The forum comprised a series of events, including one-on-one business meetingsbetween Vietnam and Korean enterprises, gathering 100 Vietnamese companies and17 Korean firms operating in the fields of information technology, electricalmachinery, components automation, chemicals, construction equipment andindustrial materials.
The forum also featured an Infrastructure Technology Road-show, helpingVietnamese and Korean companies discuss technology transfer and technicalco-operation in the field of transport infrastructure building technology.
In addition, the Vietnam-Korea M&A Seminar held within the framework of theevent brought together private investment professionals from Korea, privateequity fund managers and cross-border M&A advisory firms.
The seminar is designed to give participants the opportunity to learn aboutprivate investment opportunities in Vietnam and investment demand andstrategies of Korean i꧟nvestors, to meet with Vietnam investees and Koreaninvestors and make connections with industry professionals.-VNA
