President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) welcomes Chairman and CEO of Korea Credit Guarantee Fund Yoon Dae-hee. (Photo: VNA)

President Phuc noted that the Republic of Korea (RoK) has been the largest investor in Viet Nam, while trade between the two countries is expected to reach 100 billion USD next year and 150 billion USD in 2030, with RoK firms in Viet Nam playing a significant role in realising the goals.

He added that the success of Korean investors is a reliable channel to promote Viet Nam’s investment environment and attract more investors to the country.

The State leader hailed the fund’s opening of its representative office in Ha Noi to support Korean firms, including small and medium-sized enterprises, in making investment, as well as its efforts to promote cooperation with Vietnamese authorised agencies in finance and credit.

He noted that only around 600 Korean investors have operated in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and Quang Ninh, far below the potential of cooperation between the two sides in the field, and suggested that the fund makes surveys on economic potentials and investment opportunities in these localities, thus laying foundation for businesses from the RoK to make investment there.

He affirmed that Viet Nam wants to attract not only large businesses from the RoK but also small and medium-sized ones, as they are the major force in supporting industries and the source of high technology inventions, which is in line with Viet Nam’s national development direction.

For his part, Yoon Dae-hee said that right after COVID-19 was put under control, Viet Nam is the first foreign country that he has visited. He thanked the Vietnamese Government for backing the fund in opening its representative office in Viet Nam.

He said that the fund is the largest of its kind in the RoK, which is a favourable condition for it to support Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises as well as Korean businesses investing in Viet Nam in credit guarantee.