Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, on December 5, hailed South Korean enterprises for setting up business operations in Vietnam, promising the Vietnamese Government would create a favorable environment for Korean and other foreign investors.
As part of his official 3-day visit to the Republic of Korea, President Phuc had discussions with local conglomerates in the fields of trade and services, smart infrastructure, electronics technology, automobile industry, and biology.
The meetings with Korean business executives aimed to strengthen the economic relationship between Vietnam and South Korea on the 30th anniversary of establishing the two nations’ diplomatic relations, which falls on December 22.
Highlights of the meeting included an intention of LG Group to make Vietnam its biggest overseas manufacturing hub for car parts and second biggest R&D center.
| Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) meets LG Group vice chairman Kwon Bong Seok on December 5. Photo: Vietnam News Agency |
The South Korean conglomerate plans to pour an additional US$4 billion into Vietnam for screen production, he told a meeting with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc during the latter’s visit to the Republic of Korea on December 4-6.
The company's current investment in local screen-making is $5.3 billion, Kwon Bong Seok said.
LG Group may also construct a new factory in Vietnam worth $1 billion and focus on research and development activities. In addition, he said that LG Group would strengthen its partnership with northern universities to nurture domestic talents as Vietnamese young people are highly potential and competent.
He emphasized that the visit of President Phuc to South Korea will bolster the chance for LG Group to expand its investment in Vietnam and improve its cooperation with Vietnamese partners.
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomed LG Group’s long-term business operation in Vietnam, especially the screen-making project in the northern port city of Haiphong.
He said that LG Group is now the second largest South Korean high-tech enterprise in Vietnam, adding that the South Korean enterprise and relevant companies have created jobs for some 97,000 Vietnamese workers.
The President hoped that LG Group would expand its Vietnam-based operations and develop Vietnam into the group’s major production and R&D center in the world.
"Vietnam promises to facilitate foreign investors, including South Korean ones," he said.
Meeting with Daewoo E&C chairman
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 5 also met other Korean business executives, including the Chairman of Daewoo E&C, Jung Won-ju.
Daewoo E&C chairman said that the group is seeking further investment opportunities in fuel and gasoline, green growth, environment, and community services, while still constructing the Starlake Smart City project in Hanoi’s Tay Ho District, he said.
In mid-December, the group will work and assist the organization of the Vietnam-South Korea Investment and Partnership Forum to connect the business communities in both countries, he said.
"The event will strengthen the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and South Korea on the 30th anniversary of establishing the two nations’ diplomatic relations," Jung Won-ju said.
President Phuc appreciated that Daewoo E&C was among the first Korean investors in Vietnam and welcomed the Korean enterprise to make a strong return to Vietnam to foster the two-way relationship between Vietnam and South Korea.
With a population of 100 million and a high demand for healthcare services, the Vietnamese leader suggested Daewoo E&C get involved in developing local hospitals.
In addition, Phuc recommended the South Korean firm invest in infrastructure development, fuel and gasoline, and smart city projects to serve the needs of Korean investors in Vietnam.
Automobile development
President Phuc hailed Hyundai Motor for its success in Vietnam with its plants in the provinces of Quang Nam and Ninh Binh, thus enabling both Korean and Vietnamese firms to work in a win-win manner.
Phuc requested the Korean automobile manufacturer to keep cooperating with Vietnamese companies and invest further in local auxiliary industries, especially car part production.
Highlighting Hyundai Motor’s intention in local electric car production, Phuc said that the Vietnamese Government and ministries would study potential incentives for the company in terms of taxation and infrastructure and help promote the brand in Vietnam.
He hoped that Hyundai Motor would develop Vietnam into an automobile manufacturing center in the region and the world.
For his part, Hyundai Motor CEO Chang Jae-hoon said that the company expects to expand its electric car production in Vietnam and Asia.
Other Korean business executives who met President Nguyen Xuan Phuc included Kyung Shik Sohn, CEO of CJ Group, and Shin Dong-bin, CEO of Lotte Group.
Hanoi expects to work with South Korea’s partners in smart city projects Hanoi hopes for further cooperation with South Korean partners in smart city projects, seen as one of the capital’s development trends for the future, Hanoi vice chairman Duong Duc Tuan told a meeting with a South Korean delegation late last month. Hanoi’s authorities, in particular, and the Vietnamese Government in general, expect close cooperation with South Korean counterparts will be strengthened under the framework of the bilateral strategic partnership, he said. The Vice Chairman expected the soon upgrade of the relations to a comprehensive partnership during the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations would further take the cooperation between the two countries to a new height. Since 2020, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has cooperated with several provinces/cities in Vietnam in exploring opportunities for cooperation in smart city projects. Vice Minister Lee Won-Jae referred to the recent establishment of the Vietnam-South Korea center for smart city cooperation in October, saying this would lay the foundation for a more substantial partnership in this field between the two countries. |
