VCCI Enhances Cooperation with Gimpo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, South Korea

Under the agreement, the two sides will strengthen information exchanges and organise regular meetings for their members to promote cooperation and investment.

 

Speaking at the signing ceremony, VCCI Vice President Hoang Van Dung emphasised that Vietnam - South Korea cooperation has thrived and developed in all aspects in the past 22 years. The bilateral trade increased from US$500 million in 1992 to US$27.3 billion in 2013, representing an increase of 54 times in the last 20 years. In 2011, South Korea officially overtook Japan to become the second largest supplier of inputs for Vietnam, just after China. In 2013, South Korea was the third largest trading partner of Vietnam and Vietnam was the sixth largest export market of South Korea.

 

Vietnam mainly imports computers, electronic products, machines, equipment, fabrics, telephones, fuels, raw materials, footwear inputs, apparel inputs, machine tools, steel, automobiles and parts, and plastic from South Korea. In 2013, it earned US$6.63 billion from export shipments to the East Asian nation, an increase of more than US$1 billion from 2012 (with US$5.58 billion). Meanwhile, the country exports apparel, crude oil, vehicles and parts, seafood and wood products to South Korea.

 

Particularly, the two economies are complementary, he said. South Korea has capital and technology while Vietnam has abundant human resources and a broad market. Currently, the Vietnam - South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is being negotiated, covering investment, trade in goods and services, and intellectual property rights (IPR). The agreement will boost bilateral cooperation.

 

With respect to investment, Vice President Dung said South Korean firms have invested US$29 billion in more than 3,500 projects in Vietnam, mainly focused on manufacturing, processing, high-tech, real estate, food services, construction, information and communication.

 

In tourism cooperation, South Korea has become a key tourist market of Vietnam in recent years. South Korean tourist arrivals to Vietnam increase some 30 percent annually. It welcomed more than 700,000 South Korean tourists in 2012, up 30.7 percent from a year earlier and 747,000 visitors in 2013, up 6.8 percent year on year. Vietnam unilaterally abolished visa requirements for South Korean citizens from July 1, 2014.

 

Lee Jung-Suk, Chairman of the Gimpo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed that South Korea always sees Vietnam as the most important partner in Southeast Asia because it has social and political stability, abundant labour force and rich natural resources. It also signed the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the South Korea-ASEAN Free Agree Agreement. He hoped that the Vietnam - South Korea FTA will open up cooperation opportunities for enterprises of the two countries in general and between enterprises of Gimpo and Vietnam in particular. Currently, some 2,700 South Korean businesses are investing in Vietnam and employing hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese labourers.

 

Gimpo Mayor Yoo Young-Rok said the two countries are seeking to uplift their strategic partnership. About 1,700 Vietnamese people are working in Gimpo City where the government is providing the best conditions for Vietnamese businesses and citizens to work and live. He believed that the visit will open up new cooperation opportunities for both sides and enable Gimpo businesses to seek more partners and investment destinations in Vietnam. He also hoped that the cooperation between Gimpo and VCCI will be further developed after the agreement is signed.