Director of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Hanoi Park Chul Ho made the remark in an interview granted to Cong Thuong (Industry & Trade) newspaper on the occasion of the RoK’s participation in the Vietnam International Trade Fair (Vietnam Expo 2017) in April as an honourary country.

 

He said Vietnam Expo is one of the biggest annual trade fairs in Vietnam with the attendance of nearly 500 domestic and foreign businesses this year.

 

The event will create brilliant opportunities for Korean firms to seek partners and explore the Vietnamese market, he said.

 

This is the 19th consecutive year that KOTRA has participated in the fair, which is expected to help Vietnam and the RoK develop trade and investment partnership, and set up their own production supply chains, he added.

 

He revealed that Korean companies plan to make investment in Vietnam, not only for selling products in the market but also exporting back to the RoK.

 

The signing of the Vietnam-RoK free trade agreement (VKFTA) has reduced a number of barriers relating to tariff and investment dispute settlement, while increasing protection of intellectual property rights, and opening the door to the service industry, he said.

 

That’s why Korean companies see Vietnam as an attractive investment environment, he explained.

 

In 2016, the RoK firms ran about 850 investment projects in Vietnam, he cited, adding that the support industry is receiving the most attention.

 

The number of Korean companies, which want to make inroads into automobile, medical equipment, aircraft, electricity, electronics, and garment-textile markets, has been increasing in recent time, he said.

 

Last year, 82 percent of investment from the RoK was poured into the manufacturing field. Korean businesses also showed their interest in the fields of tourism, retail, e-commerce, and online education, he added.