Korea Credit Guarantee Fund Opens Representative Office in Hanoi, Vietnam

December 7 Opening Ceremony and Official Start of Operations for Local Companies
"Expected to Act as a Catalyst for SMEs' Entry into New Southern Markets"

[Asia Economy Reporter Sunmi Park] The Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) announced on the 7th that it held an opening ceremony for its 'Hanoi Office' on the 25th floor of Gyeongnam Landmark Tower in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, and officially commenced operations.

The event was attended by Song Won-young, Tax Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam; Lee Hae-song, Head of the Financial Supervisory Service Hanoi Office; Lee Chae-ho, Vice President of Shinhan Vietnam Bank; and representatives from related organizations, financial institutions, and companies.

The Hanoi Office marks the reopening of an overseas office 21 years after KODIT closed its overseas offices (Bangkok, Frankfurt, New York, Tokyo) during the IMF economic crisis. This was established to build a support base in response to the recent expansion of overseas advancement and investment by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam and other New Southern countries, as well as the increasing demand for policy support for overseas companies.

Through this, stable guarantee support will be possible for Korean companies entering Vietnam and other New Southern countries, and it will greatly help attract investment from Korean companies in Vietnam, thereby expecting a synergistic effect between the two countries.

KODIT prepared a guarantee support system for overseas expansion companies in 2018 to respond to the overseas expansion and investment demands of small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies, but has supported guarantees through dispatching staff or overseas business trips without a separate overseas office. Upon taking office, Chairman Yoon Dae-hee recognized the increasing guarantee demand from overseas expansion companies and the difficulties in providing guarantee support, setting the opening of an overseas office as a major task and making company-wide efforts.

Accordingly, KODIT completed domestic approval procedures in January this year through close consultations with policy authorities, applied for establishment approval in Hanoi, Vietnam in May, and received final approval last October. In particular, since there is no large public guarantee institution like KODIT in Vietnam, it was necessary to persuade Vietnamese government ministries of KODIT's functions, roles, and the necessity of opening the office. Approval was granted after a strict review process involving various ministries such as the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Central Bank of Vietnam.

Yoon Dae-hee, Chairman of the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, stated, "The opening of the Hanoi Office will be a great help to Korean companies entering Vietnam as part of the government's New Southern Policy," and added, "KODIT will serve as a catalyst to actively support the advancement of our companies into New Southern countries based on the Hanoi Office."

Meanwhile, the opening ceremony was simplified and held under the direction of the local office head to comply with Vietnam government's quarantine guidelines and prevent virus spread amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.