Korean Companies' New Investment Destination
With the Korea-Vietnam relationship upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Korean companies announced large-scale investments in Vietnam. LG Group will reportedly pour an additional US$4 billion into the electronics business in Vietnam, while Samsung Electronics is expected to invest US$2 billion.
On Dec. 6, Reuters quoted a Vietnamese state media outlet as reporting that Samsung Electronics, the largest single investor in Vietnam, will invest an additional US$2 billion in the country. The Vietnamese government said in a statement that Samsung Electronics will raise its total investment in Vietnam to US$20 billion. Samsung Electronics vice chairman Han Jong-hee met with visiting Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Dec. 6.
LG Group also promised to make a large-scale investment in Vietnam. Kwon Bong-seok, vice chairman and chief operating officer of LG Corp., LG Group’s holding company, met with President Phuc on Dec. 5 and announced that LG Group would invest an additional US$4 billion in Vietnam. The group's total investment in Vietnam has reached US$5.3 billion. LG Group entered Vietnam in 1995 and created an LG Electronics production complex in the northern port city of Hai Phong in 2015. It has about 27,000 local employees in Vietnam at the moment.
Insiders of the Korean business world say that major Korean business groups' large-scale investments in Vietnam clearly show their intention to leave China. Due to China's excessive regulations, including the zero-COVID policy, global companies are shunning it and leaving for other regions.