The Republic of Korea has invested heavily in the textile, garment, leather and footwear industries of Vietnam. Korea is investing in Vietnam’s textile and garment industry in a big way. As per Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Korea is one of the biggest trading partners. The move is to satisfy growing orders from US importers, mostly leading retailers such as Target, Walmart, Kohls, Kmart, Sears and Tesco. With more than 500 businesses based in Vietnam, and nearly two billion dollars in total committed capital, Korean investment has helped bolster Vietnam’s textile and garment industry.

Korea is one of the leading economic partners of Vietnam, ranking first in foreign direct investment and third in trade with Vietnam. Bilateral trade in the first ten months of 2021 was up 17.6 per cent year on year. Korea hopes to invest more in Vietnam’s industry, especially in material production and design, so as to benefit from preferential treatment under free trade agreements.

Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of leather and footwear products in the world. There are nearly 2,000 enterprises in this sector, and they engage in all production steps. Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea is one of the five main export markets of this industry. Given this, Vietnamese businesses have relatively big opportunities to cooperate with Korean importers to boost exports.