Exports from Korea to Vietnam jumping over 10 pct in 2016

In the January-July period, shipments to Vietnam jumped 10.1 percent on-year to US$18.02 billion, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). The amount marks the world's third-largest, after the $68.52 billion worth of goods shipped to China and the $39.63 billion to the United States over the cited period. 

Shipments to Vietnam also accounted for 6.4 percent of South Korea's overall exports over the seven-month period, up more than threefold from 2 percent in 2009. Although shipments to Vietnam have sharply risen, South Korea's exports have been in a prolonged slump, falling every single month since the start of 2015. The increase in shipments to Vietnam was largely attributed to the countries' bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that went into effect late last year, further promoting trade between the countries that had already been on a steady rise following the 2007 implementation of South Korea's FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which Vietnam is a member. 
Market analysts said Vietnam's demand for South Korean products still has room to further grow. "Vietnam continues to house a growing number of global manufacturers at its major industrial complexes, but the firms there are facing difficulties in securing necessary materials and parts from the local market," said Moon Byeong-ki, a researcher from the Institute for International Trade, a think tank run by KITA. 
"The rise in Vietnam's imports of industrial parts and materials is expected to continue for some time." 

South Korea will, in particular, focus on ways to boost bilateral trade and investment, help Korean companies win infrastructure construction projects and make inroads into the financial market there, the ministry said. 
Asean - Korea Centre General Secretary Kim Young Sun said, given increasingly developed trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, key industries are being given priorities. He added that Vietnam still has a lot of untapped potential, for example, golden-age population, studiousness and capable young people who are not inferior to people from any countries. Recently, international economists called Vietnam the "Asian Dragon".
In addition, Vietnam and South Korea have upheld the fine relations for over 20 years. Bilateral trade between the two came to US$37.6 billion last year, up from a mere $493 million in 1992 when they established diplomatic relations, according to government data. The two enacted a free trade deal last year under which they lowered trade barriers that can bolster commerce. More than 4,400 South Korean companies are doing business in Vietnam and going with Vietnam to the world including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and other major conglomerates.
In the past time, the two countries deepened cooperation in apparels, footwear and light industries. Currently, Vietnam and South Korea are expanding cooperation to high-valued fields like electronics and information technology, a step to realise the target of US$70 billion of two-way trade revenue in 2020.