December 19, 2017 | 22:13 (GMT+7)
Vietnam, RoK trade grows sharply on FTA
The Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK), which came into effect two years ago, has served as a catalyst for the two countries’ trade growth.
Bilateral trade surged 43 percent year on year to USD 58.8 billion during January-November.
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| Technician at Samsung Electronics Complex in Vietnam. (Photo for illustration) |
The RoK’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on December 19 that two-way trade has increased in three consecutive years and Vietnam has become fourth largest trade partner of the RoK.
In the first 11 months of the year, the RoK’s exports to the Southeast Asian country soared 48.4 percent from the same time last year to USD 43.7 billion on semiconductors, displays, wireless communication equipment and electronics parts. With such result, Korean products made up 22.3 percent in the Vietnamese market, just following China.
Meanwhile, imports from Vietnam rose 29.2 percent to USD 14.8 billion in the reviewed time, mostly in wireless communication equipment, clothing, and other daily necessities.
The ministry said that RoK enterprises poured USD 54.5 billion into Vietnam in the first half of the year, making it the largest source of foreign direct investment of Vietnam.
More than 5,000 RoK companies are running business in Vietnam, including Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and Doosan Engineering & Construction Co. They chose Vietnam to take advantage of cheap labor and a growing number of middle-class consumers in the fast-growing economy.
Source: VNA