Vietnam and India to play a pivotal role in Korean business: Survey

Flag of Vietnam. [Image source: Gettyimagesbank]

Business dynamics in South Korea are shifting towards a focus on Vietnam and India from China and Japan, according to a recent survey.

Based on its recent survey of 906 domestic companies conducted from August 10 to 30, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said on Friday that local companies’ focus has recently been on emerging markets, such as Vietnam and India, and moving away from traditional business partners such as China and Japan.

When asked to pick three countries where they currently conduct business, the respondents ranked the United States as the most popular at 26.6 percent, followed by China at 15.1 percent, Japan at 10.8 percent, Vietnam at 7.4 percent, Germany at 2.9 percent, India at 2.3 percent, Russia at 2.2 percent, and Taiwan at 2 percent.

However, when asked to choose future business destinations, Vietnam was the second-highest choice at 8.7 percent, followed by India at 7.3 percent, China at 7 percent, Japan at 5.2 percent, Indonesia at 3.8 percent, and Saudi Arabia at 3.1 percent. The United States retained its spot as the most popular choice.

While companies that are more dependent on exports were likely to consider India their future business partner, those with less export experience tended to be interested in the Vietnamese and Chinese markets.

The survey found that companies with exports of $10 million or more, making up 27.3 percent of respondents, chose the United States as a future business destination. India and Vietnam came in at 8.4 percent and 8.2 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, companies with exports totaling less than $10 million favored the United States with an approximate voting rate of 20.5 percent, followed by Vietnam 9.6 percent and China 9.1 percent.