RoK contributes more than half of FDI in education in Vietnam

One-third of the total of 112 foreign investors who contributed capital and purchased shares in educational projects this year were also from the RoK.

Visang Education Inc. invested US$3.34 million in its subsidiary in Vietnam, Visang Education Vietnam, making the RoK-based group a leader in FDI in the country’s education sector.

Le Khac Anh, head of Visang Education Vietnam’s marketing department, said there is plenty of space for the company to expand its services in the country, as local demand for Korean language courses have been on the rise in recent years.

Durable Newtech JSC, meanwhile, also announced US$2.59 million in investment into the Korea Global School, a new international school in Hanoi.

Vietnam saw additional FDI injected into 14 educational projects between January and November, half of which are run and invested in by RoK investors.

The International College of Arts from the RoK added US$2.74 million to its Hanoi-based centre, which had already received US$4.24 million in registered investment.

Another RoK enterprise, Poly Educational Services Co., pumped an extra US$950,000 into its US$3.1 million foreign language centre in District 7, HCM City.

The fact that the RoK has remained Vietnam’s largest FDI contributor for many years has seen a number of Korean specialists and guest workers come to the country, triggering an increase in demand for educational services for the Korean community in the country.

The number of Koreans in Vietnam has risen nearly 50-fold over the last decade to around 100,000, according to Savills. Some 80% live in HCM City, with the remainder in Hanoi, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Vung Tau, Bac Ninh, and elsewhere.

The figure is likely to increase in the years to come, opening up new business opportunities in products and services, such as education, provided exclusively for Korean customers.