Vietnam and Korea sign 16 agreements worth $15 billion

The forum was organised as part of the official visit of State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to South Korea. Ministries, related authorities and localities of the two countries also signed eight MoU on promoting bilateral co-operation.

The event attracted over 500 representatives of businesses from the two countries, including Korean enterprises operating in infrastructure, electronics, finance, transport, and education that expressed their interest in the Vietnamese market.

Along with these sectors, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh encouraged Korean groups to expand investment in Vietnam in digital technology, electronics, infrastructure, and industrial zones.

Previously on December 5, President Phuc received representatives of large enterprises from South Korea, such as LG, Samsung, CJ, Lotte, Hyundai Motor, and Daewoo E&C. Many of them committed to investing additional billions of dollars in Vietnam.

Regarding Vietnamese businesses, they also prepared “solid nests” to welcome these large groups.

Dang Thanh Tam, chairman of KinhBac City Development Holding Corporation (KBC), who participated in the delegation of businesses visiting Korea on this occasion, said that KBC completed the land clearance and compensation for the 300-hectare land plots in Trang Due Industrial Zone of Haiphong to welcome LG’s expansion and its satellite suppliers.

In the first eleven months of this year, Korea ranked third for investing in Vietnam with above $4.1 billion, accounting for 16.4 per cent of the total investment capital inflow to the country. Notably, there were 375 newly-registered projects worth $930.7 million, 330 existing projects with added capital worth 2.73 billion, and 1,124 projects of paid-in capital worth $456.4 million.

Bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and South Korea reached $80.5 billion in the first eleven months of this year, exceeding the figure for all of 2021.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is opening a new stage of development for the relationship and investment opportunities between Vietnam and South Korea.

LG Corporation will invest an additional $4 billion in Vietnam and plans to make the nation its production hub for smartphone camera products.

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Han Jong-hee said the company would raise total investment in Vietnam to $20 billion, focusing on artificial intelligence and big data.

In addition to existing cooperation tools, a new framework will help Vietnam attract more investment from South Korea, which is now the first’s biggest foreign investor.