Vietnam to become RoK’s third largest trade partner: KBS

It quoted the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI)’s analysis of investment and trade changes between the two nations during the 1992-2021 period as saying that the RoK’s trade surplus with Vietnam grew steadily from US$300 million in 1992 to an estimated US$31.3 billion in 2022, making Vietnam almost certainly exceed the US to become the top surplus partner.

As of November, two-way trade between Vietnam and the RoK hit US$81.1 billion.

The figure in 1992 reached US$500 million and saw a 161-fold rise to US$80.7 billion in 2021. During the period, the RoK’s exports and imports soared by 8.4 and 7.5 times respectively, but its exports and imports with Vietnam surged by 142 times and 240 times.

Since the establishment of their diplomatic ties, the third biggest currency earners have been semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and sensors, radio and telecommunications equipment. During 2019-2021, their exports grew by 32%, 23.3% and 37.2%, respectively.

Data from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam showed that as of 2021, the RoK was the biggest investor in Vietnam with 9,203 projects worth US$78.5 billion. Its FDI in Vietnam spiked from US$17 million in 1992 to US$2.4 billion in 2021.

Samsung is the biggest foreign-invested firm in Vietnam. This year, it poured an additional US$2 billion in the country and expects to raise its total investment to US$20 billion.

FKI advised the RoK Government to enhance partnerships with Vietnam as the two governments recently upgraded the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The two countries’ businesses also targeted lifting two-way trade to US$150 billion by 2030, doubling the current figure.