Vietnam becomes ideal destination for RoK investors in hi-tech industry

At the forum, Nguyen Phu Binh, chairman of the Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese, revealed that after 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Vietnam and the RoK have recorded a range of major economic, social, and cultural achievements.

Most notably, the RoK has become one of the country’s largest investment partners for several years, making a significant contribution to its economic development.

Sharing this perspective, Kwon Sung-taek, vice chairman of the Korea-Vietnam Economic and Cultural Association (KOVECA), also emphasised that these achievements can be attributed to similarities in the culture and development goals of the two countries.

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the RoK is equivalent to the RoK’s total bilateral trade turnover with the remaining nine countries in the ASEAN region, while RoK enterprises contribute approximately 25% to total Vietnamese export turnover, he said.

The KOVECA representative noted that there will be significant changes in the RoK’s investment in Vietnam, with priority given to the manufacturing, high-tech, and environment sectors instead of labour - intensive industries as had been the case in the past.

Vietnam is anticipated to become a destination for technology transfer and human resource training by investors from the RoK, particularly as it is one of the countries with the fastest digital transformation pace in the world.

He pointed out that aside from advantages of a young population and being an attractive investment destination, there remains hurdles in terms of investment attraction policies for financiers.

Nguyen Minh Lam, vice chairman of the Long An Provincial People's Committee, said the RoK has injected US$900 million into 209 investment projects in Long An, ranking second among countries investing in the locality.

To attract greater foreign direct investment (FDI), the province focuses on improving the investment climate and simplifying administrative formalities in a bid to facilitate investors’ operations.

Pham Huu Thang, vice chairman cum general secretary of the Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese, said Vietnam is ready to welcome Korean financiers to seek investment opportunities, adding that both sides must provide updated information on each their respective needs to ramp up effective co-operation in the coming time.