South Korea invests 6 billion USD in Vietnam's textile industry

South Korea is currently the largest foreign investor in Vietnam's textile and garment sector with $6 billion in investment capital.

That is the information given by Mr. Truong Van Cam - Vice President of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association at the "Sustainable Environment Workshop in Fashion Technology", held on the morning of October 24, organized by Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association in collaboration with Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH).

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Truong Van Cam said that Vietnam's textile and garment industry has been developing rapidly in recent times, from a place that focused mostly on supplying the domestic market to becoming one of the three largest textile and garment exporting countries in the world, after China and Bangladesh. In the coming time, the industry still has many opportunities to continue to develop.

Mr. Kwark Young-je speaks at the Sustainable Environment in Fashion Technology Conference. Photo: Hai Linh

Looking at the Strategy for the Development of the Vietnamese Textile and Footwear Industry to 2030, with a vision to 2035, it is clear that the Government aims for the industry to continue to grow at a rate of 6-6.8% per year by 2030, gradually shifting its focus from rapid development to sustainable development. By 2035, it will shift to effective and sustainable development in the direction of circular business and find ways to enhance the industry's value chain both domestically and internationally; build brands and export textiles and garments with Vietnam's own brands.

“ The textile and garment industry always wants to cooperate with organizations to enhance its competitiveness. KITECH is an example. Over the past 10 years, the Institute has provided important information on technology and textile and garment development trends for Vietnamese enterprises to learn and apply ,” said Mr. Cam.

The leader of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association also said that the Vietnamese textile and garment industry is facing many challenges. Currently, most of the production output is for export, so fluctuations in the market have a quick and strong impact on the industry. " There are two recent periods that directly affect the textile and garment industry's exports, in which the global economic crisis of 2008-2009 caused Vietnam's textile and garment exports to decrease; in 2020-2021, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and related consequences caused exports to fluctuate ," Mr. Cam gave an example.

Another factor that has a strong impact on the industry now and in the long term is the trend of sustainable development and rapid growth. Currently, major export markets of Vietnamese textiles and garments such as the US, Japan, EU, Korea, and China all promote this trend, even including laws that force suppliers to comply, rather than encourage it.

Regarding the Korean market, Mr. Cam informed that, in addition to the bilateral trade partnership agreement, Vietnam and Korea are currently members of many other agreements, such as: ASEAN-Korea, RCEP... This condition is a good opportunity for textile and garment enterprises of the two countries to increase cooperation and promote import and export. In particular, Vietnam and Korea have signed a free trade agreement with the EU, which will help Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises take advantage of Korean raw materials to meet the rules of origin and achieve a tax rate of 0% when exporting goods to the EU.

“ In fact, Korea is currently the largest foreign investor in Vietnam’s textile and garment industry with 6 billion USD in investment capital. With this foundation, Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises hope that in the coming time, the Korean side will continue to cooperate more closely in human resource training; strengthen cooperation to supplement the shortage of supply, especially in dyeing and finishing; and transfer technology to Vietnamese enterprises ,” Mr. Cam expected.

At the workshop, Mr. Kwark young-je (Professor of Soongsil University, Faculty of Engineering and Materials Science) also said that the textile industry has many factors affecting the environment: Micronutrients, chemicals, waste, water use... Therefore, converting the linear production-consumption-disposal cycle to circulation and reuse is very necessary.

Many countries in the world, including Korea, have given clear messages and directions on the circular economy. “ Korean enterprises have also been applying many technologies to recycle textile products, aiming for sustainable development, which is a huge trend in the industry ,” said Mr. Kwark Young-je.

The Korean government has also announced four major strategies to enhance the competitiveness of the textile industry, including an eco-friendly transformation strategy. However, Korea still lacks core technology and is still developing environmentally friendly application technology.

“ Green transformation is a future trade barrier and also a stepping stone for the textile industry to develop rapidly, so this is a trend that businesses need to quickly grasp ,” Mr. Kwark Young-je emphasized.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/han-quoc-dau-tu-6-ty-usd-vao-nganh-det-may-viet-nam-354434.html