VietNamNet Bridge - Next year, South Korea will transfer 167 different kinds of technologies to Vietnamese enterprises in four main industrial sectors.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has published a list of 167 technologies that will be transferred:  mechanical engineering (53), textiles - footwear (51), automobiles (35) and electrical - electronics (28).

This program is part of the support-industry cooperation between the Ministry and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of South Korea.

South Korea is one of the most important trading investment partners of Vietnam. Over the past two decades, two-way trade turnover between the two countries has increased 55 times, from $500 million in 1992 to $27.3 billion in 2013. Last year, South Korea was the third largest trading partner of Vietnam;  Vietnam was the sixth largest export market of South Korea.

One of the highlights of trade relations between the two countries is the structure of imports-exports that clearly complement each other. South Korea mainly exports to Vietnam machinery and equipment, and raw materials for textiles and footwear, and imports seafood, textiles, footwear, furniture and agricultural products from Vietnam.

The two countries are negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA), which is scheduled to be completed in 2014. If the FTA is signed, it will help promote two-way trade turnover between the two countries.

In the January-September period of 2014, South Korea poured the biggest amount of FDI capital into Vietnam, with nearly $3.6 billion.

Many experts said that South Korea will be the top investor in Vietnam this year as Korean authorities have a positive assessment of the investment environment in Vietnam.

S. Tung