KOTRA logs 503 export consultations at ENTECH Vietnam 2026, signs 17 MOUs

As Vietnam's high-growth economy drives surging demand for power, energy and eco-friendly technology, South Korean environmental and energy companies are moving to capture a share of the local market.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced Sunday that it held an export trade consultation event tied to ENTECH Vietnam 2026 over three days starting June 24 at the I.C.E. exhibition center in Hanoi.

ENTECH Vietnam is a specialized trade fair covering the environmental and energy industries. KOTRA, BEXCO and Today Energy have co-organized the event in Vietnam for the 18th consecutive year. This year, 205 companies from five countries set up exhibition booths, including 105 South Korean firms.

The consultation event drew 69 South Korean environmental technology companies and 140 Vietnamese buyers. Major Vietnamese firms — including Trung Nam Group, state oil company Petrolimex and urban environmental services company Urenco — took part in the meetings. A total of 503 business-to-business consultations were held on-site, and 17 MOUs were signed.

Vietnamese buyers showed particularly strong interest in environmental and energy solutions integrating AI and digital technologies. Battery swapping and management systems and resource-circulation data management solutions were among the standout examples highlighted at the event.

A representative of one participating company, identified only as R, said the firm had been eyeing the Vietnamese market since 2020, establishing a local subsidiary and completing the necessary local certifications. "At this trade consultation event, we were able to meet the Vietnamese potential partners we had been looking for and discuss avenues for cooperation," the representative said, expressing optimism about turning those discussions into actual business.

Company B, which showcased AI-based video analysis technology, also fielded a stream of inquiries from Vietnamese buyers in the agricultural sector. Local buyers discussed using the technology to detect pests and crop diseases and to automate farmland management tasks.

Vietnam posted growth of around 8 percent last year, making it one of Asia's fastest-expanding markets. Rapid manufacturing expansion and urbanization are driving equally fast growth in power and energy demand. The Vietnamese government is pursuing greater investment in renewable energy, energy storage systems, smart grids and nuclear power plants through its eighth National Power Development Plan.

Demand for eco-friendly cooperation is also growing. Vietnam is drawing attention as a partner for Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome projects — initiatives through which countries that signed the Paris Agreement, including South Korea, work toward meeting their nationally determined contribution targets. Along with Bangladesh and Laos, Vietnam is one of a handful of countries that have concluded both a framework climate change agreement and multiple ministry-level MOUs providing the legal foundation for international carbon reduction projects.

Intergovernmental cooperation between Seoul and Hanoi is also giving Korean companies an additional boost. Over the past eight months, the two countries' leaders exchanged state visits, during which the two sides signed three MOUs covering power infrastructure, water resource management and nuclear energy. The environment and energy sector has effectively emerged as a central pillar of bilateral economic cooperation.

"Vietnam, the manufacturing hub of ASEAN and a market recording strong growth, is highly interested in cooperating with Korean companies to digitalize and green its industries," said Ku Bon-kyung, head of KOTRA's Southeast Asia and Oceania regional headquarters. "We will do our utmost on the ground to support Korean companies so that the current spirit of intergovernmental cooperation translates into tangible results for their overseas expansion."