Korean firms shifting overseas business focus to Vietnam
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SEOUL - Korea's consumer goods firms are shifting their overseas focus to Vietnam as their business in China reaches its limits, increasing investment and aggressively opening new branches, according to industry watchers on Monday.
With a population of over 90 million and 60 percent in their 30s or younger, Vietnam stands out as a market promising robust growth. A recent report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said the Korean government is pursuing expansion of consumer goods exports to Vietnam to make up for the country's slowing trade, describing Vietnam as a good opportunity for local firms.
CJ Group, whose affiliates range from entertainment to food and beverages, made an early start, opening an office in Vietnam in 1998. The group's chairman, Lee Jay-hyun, declared in 2012 that the conglomerate will build a "third CJ" in Vietnam following South Korea and China. It is currently engaged in seven different sectors and maintaining its top position in three of them -- bakery, home shopping and movie theaters.
In February, it took over Ong Kim's, a popular kimchi brand in Vietnam. A month later, it acquired a 4.08-percent stake in the country's meat manufacturer Vissan and is planning to obtain more.
The group produces some 700,000 tonnes of animal feed a year and, according to company officials, it has started to look into the local livestock industry. Last year, it partnered with Sumitomo of Japan to step into the milling market.
"We will be proceeding with our active investment in Vietnam across different industries," a CJ official said. "We will expand the scale of investment, such as increasing milling factories, to raise our market status in Vietnam."
