Korea’s KGM Tata Daewoo eyes auto assembly plant, high-tech agro in northern Vietnam

KGM Tata Daewoo, a major commercial vehicle maker in South Korea, has shown interest in building an auto assembly plant and develop high-technology farming in Vietnam’s northern province of Tuyen Quang.

At a Tuesday meeting with the province’s Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Tuan, KGM Tata Daewoo chairman Ko Young Hak said the firm was looking for a 10-hectare site to build an auto assembly plant and another 30 hectares to develop smart farming, with a focus on strawberry plantations. A golf course is also part of its plans.

KGM Tata Daewoo is also seeking to erect a vocational training facility to prepare Vietnamese laborers bound to work in South Korea and for itself in Vietnam, Ko added.

To further its plans, the firm expected more discussions in the near future, Ko said.

In response, Tuan welcomed the plans, saying they fit the province’s investment strategy. The provincial government is committed to facilitating the best conditions for those investments.

Before the meeting, KGM Tata Daewoo had conducted a fact-finding trip to the Tam Da industrial cluster in Son Duong district and Long Binh An Industrial Park in Tuyen Quang town. This was not the first trip by KGM Tata Daewoo executives to Tuyen Quang.

On May 8, 2024, Ko Young Hak and Park Noh Wan – former South Korean ambassador to Vietnam and now senior advisor to Kim & Chang law firm, met with chief of the Tuyen Quang Party Committee Chau Van Lam.

At the meeting, Ko Young Hak tipped that the firm was seeking a site to build a 36-hole golf course and develop smart farming.

In South Korea, KGM Tata Daewoo has a chicken farming business, with annual revenue of $600 million, Ko said.

In reply, Lam said the province already had planning for the golf course and high-tech agricultural developments. The official said he also expected the Korean company to invest in a vehicle assembly plant and hotels in the province.