This undated photo provided by Samsung Electronics Co. shows the company’s plant in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam.
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean businesses’ investment in Vietnam, a centerpiece of South Korea’s New Southern Policy, has declined sharply amid weakened investment sentiment.
According to statistics released by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, the number of South Korea’s investments in Vietnam totaled 1,942 cases last year, down 30.3 percent from a year ago.
South Korea’s investments in the Southeast Asian nation were on an upward trend during the period from 2017 to 2020, rising from 2,606 cases to 4,553 cases. In particular, new project investments plunged by about 40 percent to 361 cases last year from 609 cases in 2020.
Korean firms operating in Vietnam blamed the decline on the government’s problematic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and excessive demands placed on foreign companies.
Back in June last year, when the Vietnamese government had difficulty procuring COVID-19 vaccines, it asked foreign companies to help finance the purchase cost.
Eventually, a host of South Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and SK Group, covered the cost of purchasing vaccines for Vietnam’s central and local governments.
In Vietnam’s southern areas where industrial complexes are clustered, the government issued guidelines asking foreign companies to establish accommodation facilities for workers to work and stay within the factories, causing delays in production.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
