More opportunities to attract major investors.

Following the visit of 52 major American companies to Vietnam in March to seek investment opportunities, a delegation of 205 South Korean businesses has now arrived in Vietnam during President Yoon Suk-yeol's three-day visit (June 22-24).

These businesses belong to various sectors such as distribution, finance, law, healthcare , information technology, and services. Notably, the delegation includes the chairmen of five leading South Korean conglomerates: Samsung Electronics, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG, and Lotte.

Samsung is currently the largest South Korean investor in Vietnam. (Illustrative image: Investment Newspaper)

A golden opportunity to attract high-quality FDI capital.

Commenting on this event, economic experts believe that this is a great opportunity for Vietnam to attract more major investors. It also demonstrates that our investment and business environment has improved, and Vietnam remains a destination for foreign investment.

Speaking to VTC News , economist Dr. Bui Kien Thanh commented that in recent years, investment attraction between Vietnam and South Korea has developed very well. South Korea has always been one of the leading countries participating in investment and promoting Vietnam's economic development. It is also a country with advanced technology and the ability to mobilize large amounts of investment that Vietnamese businesses are not yet capable of mobilizing...

"This visit by the Korean business delegation is certainly a good and rare opportunity for domestic businesses to cooperate and invest, and for Vietnam to attract high-quality FDI," Mr. Thanh said.

Mr. Thanh confidently stated that Vietnam's recent rapid growth in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) demonstrates that foreign businesses have gained confidence in Vietnam, leading them to explore investment opportunities. If Vietnam continues to create a favorable investment environment and streamline procedures, it will undoubtedly become a hub for FDI in both North and South Asia. This is a very positive sign for the Vietnamese economy in the future.

Sharing the same view, economist Dr. Nguyen Minh Phong analyzed that recently, Vietnam has welcomed many large business delegations from countries such as the US, India, and now South Korea.

"The fact that more than 200 South Korean businesses accompanied their President to Vietnam further demonstrates that Vietnam is becoming a destination for foreign investment, attracting significant interest from corporations as they shift their investment environment. This visit brings new expectations for promoting Vietnam-Korea investment cooperation. Vietnam needs to seize this opportunity to compensate for the decline in FDI during the first six months of this year," said Dr. Phong.

Experts believe that the most encouraging aspect is that Korean businesses consistently trust and consider Vietnam as their largest investment destination outside of South Korea.

This visit by the South Korean business delegation is certainly a rare and valuable opportunity for domestic businesses to cooperate and invest, and for Vietnam to attract high-quality FDI.

Economist Bui Kien Thanh

All five major South Korean conglomerates have made significant investments in Vietnam and are preparing plans for further expansion. Late last year, Samsung Chairman Jay Y. Lee visited Vietnam to attend the inauguration of Samsung's R&D center. According to plan, Samsung will invest an additional $3.3 billion in Vietnam, of which $2 billion has already been invested in projects in Thai Nguyen and Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected that by the end of this year, Samsung will begin mass production of semiconductor chip grids at the Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam factory in Thai Nguyen.

Late last year, the Chairman of LG Group revealed that LG would invest an additional $5 billion in Vietnam in the near future. Meanwhile, Lotte Group is in the final stages of completing Lotte Mall Hanoi and constructing the Lotte Eco Smart Thu Thiem complex.

In early September last year, when attending the groundbreaking ceremony for this project in Vietnam, Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin stated that Lotte Eco Smart Thu Thiem would mark the "starting point" for Lotte Group's upcoming investment expansion activities in Vietnam.

SK is still on its way to increasing its presence in Vietnam through large-scale investments in Masan, Vingroup, etc. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor also started operating its second Hyundai Thanh Cong factory in Ninh Binh at the end of last year.

Expressing his views, Dr. Le Duy Binh, CEO of Economica Vietnam, stated that the Vietnamese and South Korean economies currently complement each other significantly.

"From South Korea's perspective, they are seeking many overseas investment opportunities because they have a weakness in human resources, while Vietnam has this advantage, as well as a large overseas market. With over 100 million people, Vietnam has an abundant labor force. Regarding the market, Vietnam has signed 18 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Asia and other international partners... Conversely, Vietnam is lacking capital, technology, and business ideas, and urgently needs to supplement these from South Korean businesses," said Dr. Le Duy Binh.

According to Dr. Le Duy Binh, in the context of the current global supply chain shift, many countries are emerging, including Vietnam and Indonesia in Southeast Asia. Therefore, the visit of over 200 Korean businesses to Vietnam is an opportunity for them to explore and research how to transform Vietnam into a production center for goods in which they have a competitive advantage, such as electronics and machinery, to supply global supply chains to G7 and G20 countries. This presents a wide-open opportunity for Vietnamese businesses and the economy.

Workers at the Samsung Vietnam factory. (Photo: Internet)

What changes does Vietnam need to make?

According to Dr. Nguyen Minh Phong, to retain South Korean businesses, Vietnam needs a crucial change: creating a business environment that meets the requirements of corporations, especially large corporations capable of long-term investment. To achieve this, the mindset in policy-making needs to change to create a breakthrough.

According to Dr. Le Duy Binh, although Vietnam has a large and abundant workforce, its skill level is still limited (only about 25% of the workforce has received training). Therefore, Vietnam needs to quickly overcome the difficulties regarding the quality of its human resources.

"We need to do better to make a difference, especially in terms of human resources and professional skills. Along with that, the number of qualified engineers in innovative fields is still low. For example, Samsung, Hyundai, and LG, when they want to make large investments, desperately need Vietnamese engineers for their R&D (Research and Development) centers to reduce costs compared to hiring engineers from other countries," analyzed Dr. Le Duy Binh.

In addition, infrastructure also needs further investment. Although we have improved significantly in recent years, we need to make more efforts to create a new Vietnam that reduces logistics costs.

"We also need to continue strong reforms in institutions and administrative procedures to compete more strongly with other countries in the region in providing benefits to investors, thereby attracting FDI enterprises," said Dr. Le Duy Binh.

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Source: https://vtc.vn/hon-200-doanh-nghiep-han-quoc-sang-viet-nam-them-co-hoi-don-dai-bang-dau-tu-ar801325.html