HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam sees South Korea as a “good peer” in its plan to achieve developed-country status by 2045, according to Nguyen Anh Tuan, the deputy director general at the Foreign Investment Agency under Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment.

“We plan to grow our economy to be a developing country with the GDP per capita in the group of the high-middle income by the year 2030,” Tuan told a group of Korean reporters at the ministry’s headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, Dec. 11, 2023. He added that Vietnam has set its sights on boosting its economy to be on par with the gross domestic product per capita of the group for high income by 2045.

“To get that target, Vietnam has to attract foreign investments (that can bolster the manufacturing sector and create jobs),” Tuan said. “There are many sectors in which both Korea and Vietnam can develop cooperation, in areas such as technology, manufacturing, renewable energy, smart city, agriculture, medical field and digital economy.”

SK Group, for example, teamed up with Vietnam in October last year to develop green hydrogen as part of its efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, according to Tuan.

“If (the two countries) closely cooperate in those sectors, especially in the way the National Innovation Center is looking for, we can be a very good partner in the global supply chain,” he added, noting that Vietnam is rapidly growing its renewable energy sector.

The NIC is a unit under the Ministry of Planning and Investment that supports and develops Vietnam’s startup and innovation ecosystem and could contribute to beefing up its growth model, placing special emphasis on science and technology.

Tuan noted that Korean companies should take advantage of Vietnam’s low-cost business environment and various incentive schemes, adding that it wants Korean businesses to be part of its growth journey.

“Vietnam has a good legal framework and amended important laws such as the law on investment, public procurement and customs that match the global standard,” he said, vowing that it would create favorable conditions for Korean companies seeking to enter the Vietnamese market.

Tuan said that foreign investors, including Korean companies, can benefit from a corporate income tax rate of only 5 percent for up to 37 years if they meet the requirements of Decision 29 on Special Investment Incentives. The scheme, which took effect Oct. 6, 2021, is available for R&D and large investment projects specified in the Law on Investment.

“Seventy percent of foreign investors surveyed expressed strong belief in the Vietnamese government’s policies and showed their willingness to increase their investments in Vietnam,” the deputy director general said.

“Also, the Vietnamese government is always beside foreign investors. We’ve set up a special task force led by the deputy prime minister and our ministry to support them whenever they have difficulties.”

Apart from the financial pledges, Vietnam also boasts highly qualified human resources, with more than 100 million people. More than 60 percent are part of the labor force, with the majority of the population under 35 years old, he added.

In the latest wave of investments, Hana Micro, a South Korean manufacturer of chip packaging and memory products, announced in September that it would pour $1 billion into Vietnam’s chip production by 2025.

Later this year, Samil Pharmaceutical will start trial production at its 25,000-square-meter pharma unit in Ho Chi Minh City’s Sai Gon Hi-Tech Park -- an area for high-technology enterprises -- dedicated to producing eye drops. The drugmaker is to begin commercial production next year.

Expressing hopes for furthering bilateral ties and bolder investments from Korean companies, Tuan believes the two sides can reach their trade volume goal of $150 billion, originally set with an aim for 2030, within just two years.

“We have a strong commitment, and the trade volume between Korea and Vietnam is reaching the $100 billion mark, so the chance of reaching the goal will not be that difficult,” he said.

Korea has long been Vietnam’s top trade partner, according to Tuan, with bilateral volume reaching a staggering $87 billion in 2022, up $9 billion from 2021.

Currently, Korean investors comprise the biggest group out of 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with nearly 100,000 projects totaling more than $84 million in 59 out of 63 provinces and major cities there.

“This means that the investment from Korea is No. 1, and the ranking will stay for a long time,” Tuan said.