S. Korea tops Haiphong investment with 30.1% of total FDI

Haiphong designated as free trade zone

Wide-ranging incentives offered on taxes, land and R&D

Yoon Jin-sik, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, delivers an opening address at the "Seminar on Investment Environment and Entry Cases in Vietnam's Haiphong City," held Monday at Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. [Korea International Trade Association]
Yoon Jin-sik, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, delivers an opening address at the "Seminar on Investment Environment and Entry Cases in Vietnam's Haiphong City," held Monday at Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. [Korea International Trade Association]

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Monday it co-hosted the "Seminar on Investment Environment and Entry Cases in Vietnam's Haiphong City" at Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, together with the Haiphong City People's Committee and the Vietnamese Embassy in Seoul.

The event was organized to introduce the latest investment conditions in Haiphong City — a key economic hub in northern Vietnam — and to help Korean companies establish a successful local presence and create new business opportunities.

About 150 people attended the seminar, including KITA Chairman Yoon Jin-sik, Haiphong City People's Committee Chairman Do Thanh Trung, Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Vu Ho, members of a Haiphong City delegation visiting South Korea, and representatives of Korean companies interested in investing locally.

In his opening remarks, Yoon said Haiphong City "is an investment destination where global companies are concentrating their capital, backed by excellent port and logistics infrastructure and full support from city authorities." He added that combining Haiphong's solid industrial infrastructure with Korean companies' advanced manufacturing capabilities "could generate significant synergies not only for the economic growth of both countries but also for supply chain stability and competitiveness."

Haiphong City People's Committee Chairman Do Thanh Trung said South Korea "is Haiphong's undisputed No. 1 partner, having invested a cumulative $15.4 billion across more than 320 projects," accounting for approximately 30.1 percent of total foreign direct investment in the city.

He added that Haiphong had recently been designated as the only free trade zone (FTZ) in northern Vietnam, offering exceptional benefits on taxes, land and research and development. "The partner we most want to share this opportunity with first is, of course, Korean companies," he said.

The seminar also featured a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony to strengthen cooperation between companies and institutions from the two countries, as well as a ceremony to present new investment registration certificates.

The subsequent presentation session introduced specific details of Haiphong City's investment environment and success stories of Korean companies that have entered the market.

Pham Van Tep, head of the Haiphong Economic Zone Authority, outlined the city's investment incentives and FTZ benefits in detail, including exemptions from land lease fees and a 10 percent tax rate applied for 30 years to five priority industries: next-generation electronics and semiconductors, AI and cloud, logistics and the marine economy, green energy and hydrogen, and R&D.

Ko Tae-yeon, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Business in Vietnam (KOCHAM) in Haiphong, presented an overview of FDI trends in the city and introduced Korean companies operating there, including LG Electronics, LG Display and Hyundai Kefico.

Law firm Bae, Kim & Lee addressed the procedures for establishing a corporation in Vietnam and key issues that arise in discussions with the government and industrial complexes during the investment process. An LG Innotek representative shared a firsthand success story spanning from the establishment of the company's Haiphong subsidiary in 2016 to the recent scale-up and operation of its new V3 factory.

A KITA official said the association would "continue to strengthen private-sector exchanges with related organizations such as the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, while further enhancing communication with the Vietnamese government through our Ho Chi Minh City branch and Hanoi office to actively support Korean companies' local business operations."

Meanwhile, KITA has been actively targeting the so-called Global South, which has rapidly emerged as a key alternative amid the reshaping of global supply chains. The association opened a Hanoi office in November last year as part of that push.


likehyo85@heraldcorp.com