The statement was made by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) at a seminar on opportunities for investment and co-operation with Viet Nam in Seoul on Tuesday.
The event was part of a co-operation programme on trade promotion between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the ASEAN-Korea Centre. While emphasising Viet Nam's advantages for foreign direct investment, Vietnamese ambassador to South Korea Tran Trong Toan said that economic co-operation between Viet Nam and South Korea had grown markedly over the years.
More and more Korean investors were pumping investment into Viet Nam, he said.
Secretary general of the ASEAN-Korea Centre Choi Young-je said there was room for growth in bilateral co-operation in economics and trade.
The centre would play an active role in promoting co-operation between Korea and Viet Nam and between Korea and ASEAN, he said.
During the event, representatives from the central provinces of Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Ngai highlighted the advantages of investing in their areas.
South Korea is Viet Nam's second largest source of foreign investment. Korean investors have launched more than 2,280 projects worth a combined total of US$22.4 billion in Viet Nam. Major Korean firms such as LG, Posco, Doosan, Samsung and Lotte now have a presence in the country.
Bilateral trade increased from a modest $28 million in 1992 to $10 billion in 2008. The global economic downturn led to a 4-per-cent drop to $9.1 billion last year.
However, Vietnamese exports posted 16-per-cent year-on-year growth last year, which was still impressive, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The two countries plan to boost two-way trade to $20 billion by 2015.
(Source: VNS)