Vietnam is keen on attracting further high-quality investment from South Korea, especially from leading enterprises like Samsung, in hi-tech and electronics sectors, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said during a visit to Samsung Electronics Vietnam Co. Ltd., an arm of South Korea’s Samsung Group, in northern Bac Ninh Province on Sunday.

PM Chinh noted that he had made four visits to Samsung’s facilities in Vietnam and worked with Samsung leaders five times in the past two years, which proved that the Vietnamese government attaches importance to foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises.

He stressed that Vietnam and South Korea are experiencing the greatest period in their relations so far with the cooperation in politics, economy, and culture being enhanced.

The ties between the peoples of the two countries are strong with more than 200,000 residents of each other living, studying, and working in the other country. 

The two sides also share many similarities in culture. Vietnam has suggested South Korea support its entertainment industry development.

He mentioned K-pop girl group BlackPink’s two-night concert in Hanoi on Saturday and Sunday, which attracted huge attention from Vietnamese fans.

Regarding the economic relations, the prime minister reported that South Korea is currently the largest FDI company in Vietnam with US$82 billion.

It ranks second in tourism and labor cooperation with Vietnam, and third in terms of two-way trade, which hit $86.4 billion in 2022.

Vietnam is promoting reforms in its business environment to attract investment, and focusing on three growth drivers of investment, export, and consumption, PM Chinh said.

The country has preferential policies for large investors and those in hi-tech, digital technology, green growth, and projects to support Vietnamese enterprises, and Samsung is an investor that meets all these criteria, according to the government leader.

Vietnam has taken great actions to solve housing issues for workers and low-income laborers, including a credit package worth VND120 trillion ($5.1 billion) for developing social housing projects and upgrading deteriorating apartment buildings.

PM Chinh asked Samsung to actively get involved in the deployment of the package.

Vietnam also expects the national innovation center in the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi to receive support from Samsung’s research and development center in the Vietnamese capital

“The Vietnamese government will continue to make conditions favorable for the group to do effective, stable, and long-term business in Vietnam,” the government leader said.

In response, Choi Joo Ho, CEO of Samsung Vietnam, said the firm is committed to making long-term and sustainable investment in Vietnam.

Samsung is currently the largest South Korean investor and also the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with a total registered investment of nearly $20 billion, Voice of Vietnam reported.

Samsung's major projects in Vietnam are in northern Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen Provinces, as well as Ho Chi Minh City.

The firm’s workforce in the Southeast Asian nation is around 100,000 laborers with 74 percent of the total workers involved in production, 17 percent being engineers, seven percent being office workers, and only 261 being foreign workers, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

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