On November 3, the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of the Southern Region (ASMES) held a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding with the government of Gimcheon City in South Korea's Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. The agreement is intended to turn separate connections into a regional economic and innovation cooperation corridor.
South Korea remains Vietnam's largest source of foreign direct investment, with nearly 10,600 projects and nearly US$103 billion in registered capital. In the south, investment totals more than US$8.37 billion in Dong Nai, more than US$3.4 billion in Binh Duong and over US$2.2 billion in Tay Ninh. Gimcheon is a high-tech industrial and logistics center with strengths in manufacturing, robot automation, green truck technology and advanced environmental treatment. Its companies are expanding investment into global export value chains in southern Vietnam.
The MOU will address earlier isolated connections by creating a coordinated cooperation mechanism. ASMES represents more than 2,000 businesses across 16 provinces and cities, from Quang Binh to Ca Mau. It will help Gimcheon businesses access southern Vietnam's industrial, high-tech agriculture and green logistics ecosystem, and advise on investment incentives and procedures.
The two sides will resolve difficulties, provide an official and transparent business bridge, reduce risks and help small and medium-sized enterprises enter each other's markets faster. They will also exchange economic information and market data regularly. ASMES will coordinate support for Gimcheon businesses entering Vietnam, while Gimcheon will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses visiting for trade and cooperation.
Huynh Van Tung, head of the Southern Representative Office of the Ministry of Science and Technology, stressed the importance of science, technology and innovation for bilateral trade supply chains. He identified robot automation, green trucks and environmental treatment as future-oriented fields supporting the green transition and net-zero goal of 16 southern provinces and cities. The ministry said it would support technology transfer and joint research and development, while a Ministry of Industry and Trade representative confirmed support within the agency's powers.
Sources: Thanh Niên
