RoK footwear firms to increase investment in Vietnam
Footwear enterprises from the Republic of Korea (RoK) are operating effectively in Vietnam and their investment flows to the country are expected to increase strongly once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is signed.
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According to Lee Young Man, President of the Korean footwear association in Vietnam, more than 100 Korean businesses are operating in the field in Vietnam, with nearly 80% of them active in the southern province of Binh Duong.
The Korean footwear association in Vietnam has organised activities to enable businesses to exchange experience in order to increase competitiveness, he said.
At present, the association has 90 members and most of them are performing well. It aims to develop the membership to 120 this year.
According to the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO), Vietnam exported around US$14.67 billion worth of footwear last year, ranking second in the world.
In the first four months of this year, the industry’s exports were worth US$4.5 billion, and the full-year target is US$20 billion.
The RoK is the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam with over 6,760 valid projects which have total registered capital of more than US$59 billion.
Trade between Vietnam and the RoK reached US$61.5 billion in 2017, up 41% year on year, including Vietnam’s exports of US$14.8 billion, a rise of 30% over 2016.
