Yoon Jong-won, CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea, Heads to Vietnam to Discuss SME Finance Cooperation

Sharing SME Finance Know-How... Requests for Local Branch Incorporation and More

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] IBK Industrial Bank of Korea announced that President Yoon Jong-won will visit Vietnam from the 26th for a 3-night, 5-day trip to discuss financial cooperation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Vietnam is home to approximately 5,600 domestic companies, ranking third after China and the United States in terms of the number of Korean companies operating there. Since 2016, Vietnam has surpassed China as the country with the highest number of newly entering companies. Notably, over 60% of these companies are in manufacturing, and about 84% are SMEs, making it a region where IBK’s role is more necessary than anywhere else.

IBK operates two branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, providing financial services to Korean companies established locally. In 2017, IBK applied to the State Bank of Vietnam for approval to convert its branches into local subsidiaries and is currently awaiting approval.

President Yoon plans to meet with officials from the State Bank of Vietnam and the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s Office to request cooperation for the approval of IBK’s local subsidiary establishment. Through the establishment of the subsidiary, he intends to explain business plans to open additional branches in major industrial park areas with a high concentration of Korean companies and to establish support systems to meet the increasing financial demand.

Additionally, President Yoon plans to share IBK’s SME financing expertise with the Vietnamese government and financial institutions and propose cooperative projects such as innovative finance to support startup growth and green transition support for SMEs. As part of this, discussions will be held to share know-how related to venture capital investment with local Vietnamese venture capital firms and to promote joint projects.

Meanwhile, on the 22nd and 23rd, President Yoon met with Nguyen Vu Tung, the Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea, and Park No-wan, the Korean Ambassador to Vietnam, to exchange views on IBK’s business plans in Vietnam and ways to contribute locally. IBK stated, "This year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Vietnam, and various cooperative projects between governments and private institutions are planned." They added, "President Yoon’s visit to Vietnam is expected to serve as a turning point for IBK to obtain approval for establishing a local subsidiary in Vietnam and to activate financial cooperation between Korea and Vietnam."