Koreans investing across crucial sectors

Koreans investing across crucial sectors

Giant South Korean groups are opening up new cooperation opportunities in rare mining, power, and more across Vietnam.

Lee Kye-In, chairman and CEO of Posco International, said last week at a working session in South Korea with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien that the company will further increase investment in Vietnam, with interest in infrastructure, materials for nuclear power plants, and exploitation of rare earths.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien had a meeting with Lee Kye-In, Chairman and CEO of POSCO International. Photo moit.gov.vn

With its strengths in designing, manufacturing, and constructing small-scale nuclear power plants, Posco is also ready to cooperate in investing and transferring technology in Vietnam. Up to this point, Posco’s accumulated investment capital in Vietnam has reached about $1.2 billion.

Minister Dien also held a working session with leaders of several South Korean enterprises in the energy sector, including Korea Electric Power Corporation and Doosan Enerbility, to promote energy cooperation.

Dien said that the total investment for power source and transmission development by 2030 is expected to be around $18-20 billion per year, and from 2030 onwards, $22-25 billion annually. This target is a challenge for the Vietnamese government but at the same time an opportunity for foreign investors, including large Korean enterprises, Dien added.

Meanwhile, at a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in February, newly-appointed president of Samsung Vietnam Na Ki Hong announced plans to expand investment in the fields of AI, semiconductors, and digital transformation.

The previous month, Samsung Display received approval to increase its investment capital by $1.2 billion for a factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh province that produces OLED screens for mobile phones and related products for IT equipment and vehicles in Vietnam.

Samsung constructed the first TV manufacturing factory in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995. Then in 2008, it built a mobile phone manufacturing factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh, known as Samsung Electronics Vietnam.

Samsung now has six factories, a research and development centre, and a sales entity in Vietnam. To date, the group has invested over $23.2 billion in Vietnam and achieved an export turnover of $54.4 billion in 2024.

"I will do my best to lead Samsung Vietnam to further development, maintaining its position as the largest foreign-invested enterprise in Vietnam, which will help make continued contributions to the country’s economic development. Especially, Samsung will continue boosting its cooperation with the Vietnamese government towards the shared benefits of the two sides." – Na Ki Hong Newly-appointed president, Samsung Vietnam

In February, South Korea’s second-largest corporation SK announced plans to invest in three major projects in Vietnam related to liquefied natural gas, moving towards developing a new energy centre associated with the development of AI, hydrogen, logistics, environmentally friendly agriculture, and innovation.

In meetings with Party General Secretary To Lam and PM Chinh in mid-February, Chey Tae Won, chairman of SK Group, said that the company is striving to seek opportunities to increase support and cooperation for the development and high, long-term, sustainable economic growth of Vietnam.

SK has invested about $3.5 billion in Vietnam. However, these investments are mainly indirect, through share purchases from Vingroup, Masan, Pharmacity, and Imexpharm, among others.

The Ecovance high-Tech biodegradable materials factory in the northern city of Haiphong is the first direct project from SK Group in Vietnam, which was approved in late 2023 and started construction in May 2024. With a total investment of $500 million, the factory is aimed at the global biodegradable materials market, which is growing strongly.

“SK considers Vietnam a priority partner in its investment strategy in the coming time,” said Won.

According to data from the former Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency, by the end of January, South Korean enterprises had invested over $92 billion in Vietnam in total, more than any other country or territory.

VIR