Vietnam-RoK economic cooperation records strong boost

HCM City (VNA) – Trade relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) has reached new development milestones, with two-way trade surging 80 times to 40 billion USD in 2016 from only 0.5 billion USD in 1992.

In the field of industry, Vietnam imports materials for producing for-export goods while ships electronics, textiles and footwear to the RoK.

Regarding investment, the RoK is currently the largest investor in Vietnam with about 5,600 projects worth 50 billion USD across 52 provinces and cities, whilst Vietnam is the RoK’s third largest economic partner. RoK firm such Lotte, CJ, Samsung, and Daewoo are companies that have effective operation in Vietnam now.

Kim Inho, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said the Vietnamese Government’s investment attraction policies have helped bring development opportunities to foreign businesses, including those from the RoK.

Vietnam’s stable economic growth lays a solid foundation for RoK firms to expand investment in Vietnam. 

The Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in late 2015, has ushered in a new stage in the trade ties between the two countries, creating impetus to a greater investment flow from the RoK into Vietnam in the coming time.

According to Nguyen Hong Son from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, two-way trade between Vietnam and the RoK recorded annual average growth of 19 percent in the last ten years.

RoK firms are investing in 18 different fields in Vietnam, with high-technology and service being the main sectors, contributing to the change of the economic structure of Vietnam.

Vietnam is calling for the RoK’s investment in the agro-forestry-aquaculture sector, which is hoped to create a new cooperation field between the two nations’ enterprises in the near future.

Notably, trade relationship between the two countries’ localities, especially big cities, has been intensified in recent years.

Park Noh Wan, RoK Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City affirmed Vietnam is the leading destination for RoK firms’ business and HCM City is the RoK’s most potential consumption market in Vietnam.

RoK companies are seeking to invest in agriculture and farm produce processing in Vietnam, adding that local-level trade promotion events will help the two countries’ businesses to establish partnership and sign specific agreements.

Deagu is the first RoK locality has signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with HCM City, paving the way for strong economic exchange between the two cities, towards expanding their trade turnover in the coming time.

With the role as a key economic hub of Vietnam, HCM City has been giving and will offer more preferential policies to, improve the legal framework and create favourable conditions for RoK enterprises in particular and foreign in general to invest in the locality.

The RoK ranked fourth among foreign investors in HCM City with approximate 1,300 project worth 4.3 billion USD.-VNA