South Korea invested some US$8.2 million in the education sector in the first 11 months of this year, accounting for well over half of all foreign investment in education. — VNA/VNS Photo

South Korea was the top investor in education in Viet Nam in the first 11 months of this year with US$8.2 million, or 57 per cent of the country’s total FDI in the sector.

A third of the 112 investors from 15 countries and territories were also from the South Korea.

Visang Education Inc invested $3.34 million in its subsidiary in Viet Nam to become the leader.

Le Khac Anh, head of its marketing department, said the demand for studying Korean is very high, giving his company plenty of scope to expand even further.

Durable Newtech JSC announced it is investing $2.59 million in the Korea Global School, a new international school in Ha Noi.

The International College of Arts invested a further $2.74 million in its Ha Noi-based centre to add to the $4.24 million it had already invested.

Poly Educational Services Co., added $950,000 to the $3.1 million it had invested in a foreign language centre in District 7, HCM City.

The fact that South Korea has remained Viet Nam’s top FDI source for many years has seen a number of Korean specialists and guest workers come to the country, triggering an increase in demand for education from the growing South Korean community in the country.

The number of South Koreans in Viet Nam has risen nearly 50-fold in the last decade to around 100,000, according to the report of Savills.

Some 80 per cent live in HCM City, and the rest in Ha Noi, 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, exclusively targeted at Korean customers. — VNS