By Francesco Guarascio and Joyce Lee
HANOI/SEOUL, April 23 (Reuters) – South Korean and Vietnamese companies are expected to sign dozens of business deals on Thursday, Korean media and two sources said, during South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to Hanoi.
The corporate contracts and non-binding deals will follow the signing of 12 cooperation pacts at a meeting between Lee and Vietnam’s top leader To Lam the previous day, including one on Korean investment in a new nuclear plant in southern Vietnam.
“Our two countries will strengthen cooperation in joint research and talent development in semiconductors, secondary batteries and biotechnology,” Lee said after the meeting.
The deals to be unveiled on Thursday include a contract to supply rolling stock for Ho Chi Minh City’s urban rail system, he added.
Hyundai Rotem said it won orders worth about $332 million for a three-phase rail project in the city.
It was among more than 70 pacts in industries ranging from finance, consumer goods and advanced technology to infrastructure and energy, South Korean media said, without identifying any companies.
Dozens of business agreements were expected during the visit, two people familiar with the plans confirmed. They sought anonymity as the information was not public.
SAMSUNG AMONG ACCOMPANYING DELEGATIONS
Officials of more than 100 Korean companies with operations in Vietnam are accompanying Lee, following a visit to India, officials and media said.
These include Samsung Electronics, SK, LG, Lotte, POSCO Holdings and HD Hyundai, they added.
Samsung has the largest presence in the Southeast Asian nation after decades of investment running into more than $20 billion.
It has recently made progress in years-long talks with Vietnamese authorities for a possible back-end semiconductor factory, sources familiar with the discussions have said.
On Wednesday, Vietnam’s central bank said it had issued a licence to Industrial Bank of Korea to open a wholly-owned unit in Vietnam.
Lee asked Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on Thursday to help tackle issues facing Korean businesses in Vietnam and pave the way for their participation in strategic infrastructure projects, state media said.
Korean businesses raise issues such as access to investment incentives, tax refunds and rising wages in Vietnam, pushed up recently by a large influx of Chinese manufacturers.
($1=1,481.5000 won)
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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