Vietnam – most attractive market for RoK businesses

Hanoi, January 30 (VNA) - Vietnam is the most popular destination for Republic of Korea’s enterprises with plans to expand business in emerging foreign markets, according to a survey released by the Korean International Trade Association (KITA) on January 29. About 49 percent of the 537 local firms responded that they have plans to develop their business in Vietnam this year. Indonesia and Thailand were placed second and third at 37.4 percent and 30 percent, respectively, followed by Malaysia at 28.5 percent and Turkey at 20.7 percent. The firms surveyed could make selections from 32 countries with annual growth of more than 3 percent in the past three years. The survey also showed that among the top 15 most popular business destinations of the year, seven were countries in East Asia. Over 53 percent of the RoK companies polled said they are aiming for the local consumer market in the target countries. Another 24.8 percent said they will use the countries as a production base, and 22.2 percent said the expansion is to utilize the merits of existing free trade agreements, according to the survey./.