Korean power firms to converge on Vietnam next month, targeting third-largest export market

South Korea's major power industry companies are heading to Vietnam next month, aiming to showcase their technological capabilities and secure large-scale grid infrastructure contracts in a market where electricity demand is surging alongside rapid economic growth.

According to industry sources Friday, the ELECS Vietnam 2026 exhibition — co-hosted by the Korea Electric Industries Association and other organizations — will run from July 15 to 17 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in Ho Chi Minh City. The top three domestic power equipment makers — Hyosung Heavy Industries, LS Electric and HD Hyundai Electric — will all participate, along with Taihan Cable & Solution, Iljin Electric and other leading firms, each presenting their total-solution capabilities.

Spanning 5,000 square meters, the exhibition will cover a full range of power technologies including transmission and distribution equipment, power generation facilities, renewable energy and smart grid systems. About 100 Korean companies and 50 overseas firms are expected to take part in export consultation sessions. Last year's event drew more than 15,000 visitors from 24 countries and generated $80.8 million in actual contracts. "Local network expansion and order discussions will be very active," an industry official said.

The Korean power industry's focus on Vietnam stems from an explosion in electricity consumption accompanying the country's rapid economic growth. Vietnam has emerged as Korea's third-largest export destination for power equipment as of 2024. According to Korea International Trade Association data, Korea's power industry exports to Vietnam rose from $772 million in 2018, climbing steadily to $1.13 billion in 2023 and $1.18 billion in 2024.

World Bank data show Vietnam's gross domestic product jumped from $334.4 billion in 2019 to $479.6 billion in 2024, with GDP growth reaching 7.1 percent that year. Alongside this rapid expansion, Vietnam's electricity consumption grew at an average annual rate of 9.7 percent over the decade from 2010 to 2020. In response, the Vietnamese government has been committing large-scale investment to expand the country's strained power infrastructure.

Vietnam plans to invest a total of $320 billion by 2045 to build out power generation capacity and expand renewable energy. The country aims to more than triple its installed generation capacity from about 80 gigawatts in 2023 to 276.6 gigawatts by 2045, while raising annual power generation from 276.4 terawatt-hours to 877.1 terawatt-hours over the same period.

Under Vietnam's Eighth National Power Development Plan (2021–2045), the country will lay 6,044 kilometers of new 500-kilovolt high-voltage transmission lines and 4,946 kilometers of 220-kilovolt lines between 2026 and 2030. Substation infrastructure will also expand significantly during that period, with 35,100 megavolt-amperes of 500-kilovolt substation capacity and 38,813 megavolt-amperes of 220-kilovolt capacity to be added.

Major Korean companies have been building their presence in Vietnam ahead of this opportunity. Hyosung Heavy Industries first entered Vietnam at the group level in 2007 and has deep local ties. In April, it signed two memorandums of understanding at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum — one with state utility Vietnam Electricity on power solution cooperation and another with Vietnam's investment promotion agency on building a new factory. LS Electric established a local production subsidiary in Vietnam in 1997 and has held more than 40 percent of the low-voltage power equipment market there since 2013, maintaining its top position. HD Hyundai Electric also supplies power equipment to the Vietnamese market through its local subsidiary.