Strengthening Vietnam - South Korea SME Cooperation

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Vu Tien Loc, VCCI President, said the business community of South Korea has not only big names making strong presence in Vietnam like Samsung, Daewoo, Kumho, CJ and Lotte but also many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) capable of making overseas investments. These SMEs are supported by the Government of South Korea as well as big enterprises. They are satellite companies that big corporations need.

 

Besides, South Korea has a strong SME support systems and policies. The Government of South Korea has policies requiring large companies to support SMEs development. Therefore, the cooperation by SMEs of the two countries and experience sharing will have an important role in promoting economic cooperation.

 

Dr Loc said some industries like information technology, electronics, mechanical engineering and automobile that South Korean companies are investing in Vietnam still rely on imported components and spare parts because of low localisation rate in Vietnam, resulting in higher selling prices and weaker competitiveness. If South Korean SMEs cooperate to transfer technologies for components and spare parts manufacturing to Vietnam, they will not only create an abundant source of spare parts for South Korean enterprises as well as those from other countries operating in Vietnam or even export these spare parts to third countries.

 

Some other fields that Vietnam is seeking to develop to improve added value such as energy, human resources training, environment, health, tourism, agricultural development in association with the agricultural product processing are also strengths of South Korean SMEs. With this investment cooperation in these sectors, South Korean SMEs also have the opportunity to expand markets of vast potential China and ASEAN markets.

 

Dr Loc also expressed his desire that South Korean companies will share their information of common concerns on the website of Vietnam - South Korea Business Forum for companies of the two countries to study and seek cooperation opportunities in the future.

 

KBIZ President Kim Ki Mun said Vietnam is now similar to South Korea 30 years ago. A majority of input materials and parts for industrial development was imported from Japan, Germany and the US. But, thanks to right strategies, South Korean SMEs have not only been developing strongly in the domestic market but also exporting and transferring technologies to other countries.

 

However, what South Korean SMEs care when they consider and decide investment in Vietnam is land policy (production sites), procedures concerning construction investment, tax and investment incentives. Vietnam authorities need to take these issues into consideration as well as provide information on markets, policies, capabilities of Vietnamese partners for South Korean SMEs.

 

“South Korean SMEs are willing to cooperate, support, share experiences and invest in Vietnam if the country has an appropriate mechanism," he said.

 

VCCI President Loc said: "VCCI will always accompany and support South Korean SMEs to cooperate with Vietnamese businesses. If South Korean SMEs meet with any difficulty when working in Vietnam that is beyond the VCCI’s capacity, VCCI will send it directly to the State President, the Prime Minister or competent authorities of Vietnam to seek solutions.”