Kim Jaehong, Chairman of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said at the Viet Nam-Korea Business Partnership Forum held on November 10 in Hanoi.
Investment by Korean firms in Vietnam has also increased significantly, rising to $55.8 billion as of September, making it the largest foreign investor in the country, he added.
The Vietnam-Korea Business Partnership 2017 program targeted opening up favorable conditions for the two countries’ enterprises in terms of technology, trade, support industries, M&As, intellectual property rights, and corporate social responsibility.

South Korean firms have chosen Vietnam as the most attractive investment destination in ASEAN.

It comprised a series of events, including one-on-one business meetings between Vietnamese and South Korean enterprises, gathering together 100 Vietnamese companies and 17 South Korean firms operating in the fields of information technology, electrical machinery, components automation, chemicals, construction equipment, and industrial materials.
Jaehong also said there were many Korean businesses interested in M&A deals in Vietnam. He hopes that the two countries can co-operate well in M&A activities, through which the two sides can collaborate in technology transfer and joint venture investment.
“When South Korea boosts technology transfer to Vietnam, the two countries can together penetrate into other countries through free trade agreements signed by Vietnam,” he said.
Many M&A experts have said that South Korea’s M&A deals with Southeast Asian countries are increasing annually in both volume and value. However, South Korean businesses in Vietnam also face a host of difficulties in terms of financial reporting and a lack of advisors and experts with knowledge of Vietnamese businesses to negotiate M&A deals.
M&A activities targeting Southeast Asia so far this year have reached $53.5 billion in 290 deals, increasing in value by 23.1 per cent compared to the same period of 2016. This is the second-highest value in the first three quarters of a year, according to Mergermarket data. In Vietnam, there were 37 deals in the period worth $1.218 billion.
M&A deals in Vietnam hit an all-time record of $5.8 billion in 2016, growth of 11.92 per cent compared to 2015, according to a report released at a press meeting to launch the M&A Forum 2017 in July.
South Korea and other countries and territories, including Thailand, Singapore, Japan, mainland China, and Hong Kong are the Top 5 buyers in Vietnam.