Vietnam, RoK hold first economic forum   The first economic forum between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) took place in Hanoi on November 13 with the participation of more than 400 delegates from the two countries’ governmental agencies and businesses. VThe event, co-held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), aimed to further bilateral economic ties and increase cooperation opportunities given Vietnam’s active engagement in the bilateral free trade agreements (FTA) in the region. In addition to improving the business climate and competitive edge, Vietnam is paying heed to increasing the quality of investment via luring multi-national groups to major hi-tech and infrastructure projects as part of its economic restructuring effort, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai. The country also concentrates on building policies encouraging small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to inject money into support industry and agriculture, he added. Hai expressed his hope that the Korean business community to continually expand investment in Vietnam, especially in the fields of agriculture, education, transport infrastructure, energy, environment, health care, processing and manufacturing industries. He suggested the RoK promote investment models that are suitable to the development of Vietnam, with the public-private partnership (PPP) form as an example. The Vietnamese Government pledged to closely work with the RoK counterpart to improve business environment and competitiveness in order to help Vietnam remain an attractive destination for foreign businesses, the Deputy PM said. As of December last year, the RoK was the biggest investor in Vietnam with over 37.2 billion USD in registered capital and more than 4,100 projects. In the first ten months of 2015, the RoK’s combined newly-registered and increased capital surpassed 6.2 billion USD, focusing on processing and manufacturing industries, real estate and construction. Two-way trade hit 28.8 billion USD in 2014 and 27.3 billion USD in January-September 2015, increasing 30.2 percent year-on-year. According to VCCI President Vu Tien Loc, many Korean giants such as Lotte, Huyndai and Samsung are operating successfully in Vietnam. The RoK sets an example in developing start-up businesses and establishing a strong business community, he said, adding that the country’s valuable experience shared at the event will help Vietnam build its national strategies in industrialisation and business development. Vice President of the KCCI Lee Dong Geun said he hopes the economic forum will help businesses of both countries to further collaboration in various fields including support industry, infrastructure and agriculture. VNA