According to Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, the Government expects Korean enterprises, including Korean banks in Vietnam, to further promote their role and actively support bilateral relations.

View of the reception. (Source: Nhan Dan)

On the morning of June 23, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai had a meeting with Mr. Kim Sung-tae, Chairman and CEO of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and Mr. Kang Seoghoon, Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank (KDB).

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said that by upgrading bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the Vietnamese Government hopes that the two countries will continue to open a new chapter of successful cooperation.

In particular, the Government expects that Korean enterprises, including Korean banks in Vietnam, will further promote their role, actively supporting the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially the economic relations, to continue to develop well.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his pleasure to meet the top leaders of the Korea Development Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea on the occasion of accompanying the President of the Republic of Korea on a State visit to Vietnam.

Wishing Mr. Kim Sung-tae and Mr. Kang Seoghoon a successful business trip, the Deputy Prime Minister said that these are two typical representatives among enterprises with Korean government capital coming to Vietnam this time.

The Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged the positive contributions of KDB and IBK banks in their role as important bridges connecting Korean investors with funding needs for important programs and projects in Vietnam.

IBK has recently expanded its operations to target Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprise clients, including projects in the renewable energy sector.

Although the capital scale is still modest, this is the right direction for IBK in Vietnam, demonstrating the bank's strong commitment to accompanying the Vietnamese economy and in line with the current major orientations of the Government.

The Deputy Prime Minister suggested that IBK continue to promote its experience and strengths, especially its important role in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, continue to operate safely and effectively, and actively support Vietnam-Korea economic cooperation.

The Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated the fact that KDB - as one of the most successful 100% government-owned development bank models - has signed and implemented Memorandums of Understanding on cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance to share valuable knowledge and experience, supporting the Ministry of Finance in building a suitable operating model orientation to restructure the Vietnam Development Bank.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that this knowledge and experience have useful reference value for the process of restructuring and building operational orientation for the Vietnam Development Bank.

The Deputy Prime Minister hopes that in the coming time, KDB will continue to share experiences and support appropriate resources for the Vietnamese Government in the process of restructuring the Vietnam Development Bank.

Expressing “every time I come to Vietnam, I feel like I am returning to my homeland,” Mr. Kang Seoghoon, Chairman and CEO of the Korea Development Bank ( KDB ), shared about his meeting with the chairman of a large US investment fund.

When asked about which country's economy has the most opportunity to develop in the current context, he immediately answered: Vietnam. Although the global economy is facing difficulties, Vietnam is still growing sustainably.

The Chairman of KDB expressed his hope to have a close relationship with Vietnamese enterprises in the fields of high-tech development, digital transformation, and green energy development to respond to global climate change; and hoped to establish a bank branch in Vietnam in the near future to share experiences and support Vietnamese enterprises to develop in the world market.

On the Industrial Bank of Korea side, IBK Chairman Kim Sung-tae expressed his desire to establish a specialized bank providing financial services to the small and medium enterprise sector, thereby contributing to enhancing the ecosystem of small and medium enterprises in Vietnam, contributing to the development of relations between the two countries.

Discussing the proposal of KDB and IBK leaders, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said that Korea is currently the country with the largest number of financial and banking institutions in Vietnam and continues to have the largest number of applications for licenses to establish new presences.

The number of organizations in the Vietnamese credit institution system has reached 96 credit institutions and foreign bank branches, including 9 100% foreign-owned banks and 50 foreign bank branches.

Since 2011, the Vietnamese Government has been strongly implementing economic restructuring, including the pillar of restructuring the financial sector, with banking restructuring being the focus.

In the 2021-2025 period, Vietnam will continue to implement the Project to restructure the system of credit institutions to improve the quality and efficiency of the entire system.

Accordingly, the Vietnamese Government encourages foreign financial and banking institutions to participate in the process of restructuring the credit institution system and handling weak banks.

This will be an advantage when foreign financial institutions wish to establish a new commercial presence in Vietnam. Vietnam really hopes that Korean financial and banking institutions will proactively and actively participate in this restructuring process./.

Chu Thanh Van (Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)