President of Korea KDB Bank: Every time I come to Vietnam, I feel like I'm back in my hometown

Continue to open a new chapter of cooperation with great success in Vietnam - Korea relations

On the morning of June 23, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai received Mr. Kim Sung-tae, Chairman and CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and Mr. Kang Seoghoon, President and CEO of the Bank. Korean Development (KDB).

Attending the meeting were leaders of the Government Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the State Bank, etc.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said: As a very important partner, Korea is ranked first in terms of investment; second on ODA, labor and tourism; third on trade with Vietnam.

Up to now, the total registered capital of Korean investment projects in Vietnam is up to 82 billion USD, the trade turnover in 2022 will reach 87 billion USD, an increase of more than 11% compared to 2021. For Korea, Vietnam South is also the largest economic partner in Southeast Asia.

With the elevation of the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the Vietnamese Government hopes that the two countries will continue to open a new chapter of cooperation with great success, in which it is expected that Korean businesses, including Korean including Korean banks in Vietnam will further promote their role, actively support the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Korea, especially the economic relationship to continue to develop well.

Expressed his pleasure to meet the top leaders of Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) on the occasion of accompanying the President of the Republic of Korea on his official visit to Vietnam. It can be said that IBK and KDB are two typical representatives of Korean government-owned enterprises during this visit to Vietnam. Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai wished Mr. Kim Sung-tae, IBK Chairman and Mr. Kang Seoghoon. , Chairman and CEO of KDB had a successful business trip.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai emphasized that the Government and people of Vietnam highly appreciate this visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking the first visit to a country in Southeast Asia. of the President; I believe that the Governments of the two countries will agree on a specific direction and action plan to further develop the comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming time, a good relationship that has been built and cultivated. over the past three decades.

Vietnam continues to be an attractive destination for international investors

Talking about Vietnam's economic situation, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai emphasized: With stable political and macroeconomic factors, the business environment is increasingly healthy, along with the Prestigious international organizations continue to evaluate and forecast positively about Vietnam's economic prospects in 2023 and in the coming time, Vietnam will continue to be an attractive destination for international investors.

Discussing economic cooperation between the two countries, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said that in addition to effective and practical cooperation between the State Bank of Vietnam and monetary sector management agencies, Korean banks , it is impossible not to mention the role of Korean banking and financial institutions in Vietnam. These organizations have been doing business effectively, complying with Vietnamese laws, actively supporting the growing economic, trade and bilateral investment activities.

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

The Deputy Prime Minister congratulated IBK on the encouraging performance results of IBK in Vietnam over the past time; highly appreciated that IBK recently expanded its activities towards Vietnamese SME customers, including projects in the field of renewable energy. This shows the bank's strong commitment to accompany the Vietnamese economy and is in line with the major orientations of the Government today.

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

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai highly appreciated the fact that KDB as one of the most successful 100% government-owned development banking models signed and implemented Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance. Nam aims to share valuable knowledge and experiences, support the Ministry of Finance in building an appropriate operating model orientation to restructure the Vietnam Development Bank.

Considering that these knowledge and experiences have useful reference value for the implementation process of restructuring and building operational orientations for the Vietnam Development Bank, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai wished In the coming time, KDB will continue to share experiences and support appropriate resources for the Government of Vietnam in the process of restructuring the Vietnam Development Bank.

Every time I come to Vietnam, I feel like I'm back in my hometown

Thanking Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai and leaders of ministries and sectors for taking the time to receive the delegation, Mr. Kang Seoghoon, President and CEO of Korea Development Bank (KDB) expressed: Working in Vietnam is not like other countries. Every time I come to Vietnam, I feel like I'm back in my hometown."

Chairman of KDB shared that last year he met the chairman of a large US investment fund. When discussing his opinion about which country's economy has the most opportunity to develop in the current context, he immediately replied: It is Vietnam.

According to KDB President Kang Seoghoon, although the global economy is facing difficulties, Vietnam still has sustainable growth. To achieve that encouraging result, there is a great role of leaders of the Party, State and Government of Vietnam, including Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai.

Mr. Kang Seoghoon said, KDB is a bank 100% owned by the Korean Government. Under the guidance of the Korean Government, KDB has had a good development. Sharing about KDB's operational orientation in the fields of high-tech development, digital transformation, green energy development to respond to global climate change, the KDB President expressed his hope that there will be a relationship between the two countries. close relationship with Vietnamese enterprises in the above fields, together with the roadmap to build Vietnam into a developed country.

The Chairman of KDB hopes to establish a bank branch in Vietnam in the near future to share experiences and support Vietnamese businesses to develop into the world market.

At the meeting, Mr. Kim Sung-tae, Chairman and CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), said that IBK was established in 1991, in Korea 80% of IBK's lending assets are reserved for IBK. for small and medium enterprises. In its history of operation, whenever Korea is facing economic difficulties, IBK has always stepped up measures to support small and medium enterprises to overcome the crisis.

Currently, IBK is operating branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and promoting the process of establishing a banking entity. With total assets in Vietnam of about 1,5 billion USD, IBK is supporting loans for Korean businesses in Vietnam as well as partners.

IBK Chairman Kim Sung-tae expressed his desire to transform into a legal entity to not only support Korean businesses operating in Vietnam, but also support Vietnamese businesses in localities. , especially small and medium enterprises, thereby creating more jobs for workers, etc.

IBK Chairman Kim Sung-tae emphasized that, in the context that Vietnam and Korea have upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, IBK wishes to establish a specialized bank providing financial services. SME sector, thereby contributing to raising the SME ecosystem of Vietnam as well as contributing to the development of relations between the two countries.

Expect Korean financial institutions - banks to actively and actively participate in the process of restructuring credit institutions

Discussing the proposal of the leaders of KDB and IBK, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said: Korea is currently the country with the largest number of presences of financial institutions - banks in Vietnam and is still continuing. currently has the highest number of applications for a license to establish a new presence.

According to the report of the State Bank of Vietnam, the State Bank of Vietnam is currently processing the dossiers of 6 Korean banking institutions that apply for a license to open a new presence, including IBK and IBK. KDB. All documents have been guided by the State Bank of Vietnam in accordance with current regulations.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai said: “At the Economic Dialogue at Deputy Prime Minister level of Vietnam - Korea in March, I and Korean Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung Ho also discussed this issue. Leaders of the Vietnamese Government all noted the Korean leader's opinion on the consideration and handling of the dossiers of Korean policy banks such as KDB and IBK.

Currently, 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. Foreign goods.

From 2011 to now, the Government of Vietnam has been vigorously implementing economic restructuring, including the pillar of restructuring the financial sector with banking restructuring as the focus. In the period of 2021-2025, Vietnam will continue to implement a scheme to restructure the system of credit institutions to enhance the quality and operational efficiency of the whole system.

Accordingly, the Government of Vietnam encourages foreign financial-banking institutions to participate in the process of restructuring the system of credit institutions and handling weak banks. This will be an advantage when a foreign financial institution wishes to establish a new commercial presence in Vietnam. Vietnam also wants Korean financial institutions to actively and actively participate in this restructuring process.

The State Bank of Vietnam has also reported to the Government on the handling of applications for licenses to establish commercial presence for Korean banks, especially those of two policy banks. of the Korean Government are IBK and KDB. I believe that the Government and the Prime Minister will soon have specific instructions to thoroughly deal with this issue in the near future.”