HANOI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Experts predicted that South Korea will possibly become Vietnam's largest foreign direct investment ( FDI) contributor in 2014, local Bao Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade News), an online newspaper under Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade reported on Tuesday.
The comment was made following positive assessments of South Korean officials on investing environment in Vietnam and the fact that many big South Korean groups intend to expand their businesses in Vietnam, reported Bao Cong Thuong.
Specifically, Shim Won Hwan, General Director of South Korean biggest enterprise Samsung Electronics in Vietnam said in a recent conference that the group will expand its investment in Vietnam in coming years. In addition to electronics, Samsung will invest in other areas such as hydropower, airport, shipbuilding and petrochemical among others, said Shim.
Jun Dae Joo, South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam, was quoted by Bao Cong Thuong on Tuesday that Vietnam has been an attractive investment destination for many South Korean enterprises thanks to abundant workforce and good socio-economic growth.
South Korea topped Vietnam's FDI in the first eight months of 2014, with newly registered and added capital of 3.22 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 31.5 percent of Vietnam's FDI, said Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Cumulatively, as of the end of August, South Korean enterprises have invested into 3,930 projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of 32.845 billion U.S. dollars, said FIA.
During the eight-month period, Vietnam lured some 10.23 billion U.S. dollars in FDI from 51 countries and regions.
Japan ranked the second in the list of Vietnam's top investors with 1.27 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 12.4 percent of the national total.
China's Hong Kong sat the third place with total registered and added capital of 1.19 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 11.6 percent of Vietnam's total FDI attraction during the period.
Xinghua News Agency
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