Invest KOREA

The Korea-China FTA, new momentum for FDI

The outlook for 2015 is that the free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and China will become an important driver for not only expanding Korea’s trade but attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

KOTRA (CEO Kim Jae-hong) gave a presentation on global investment promotion strategies for 2015 on January 7 at its headquarters. About 130 participants, including investment promotion experts from local governments, attended the event and listened to the presentations, which were about the outlook for the global investment environment; expansion of global investment promotion by maximizing the Korea-China FTA; and strategies to increase investment promotion in the service industry through investment attraction in non-metropolitan areas and regional development.

Speakers at the event said the government should take a multilateral approach to enhancing investment promotion following Korea’s attraction of USD 19 billion in FDI in 2014, a record high for the country. They suggested maximizing the effects of the Korea-China FTA and the Korean Wave, converging trade and investment and using existing strategies that make the most of Korea’s competitive edge.

“The year 2015 will be a year for Korea to show how it can respond to the effects of the Chinese economy. We will proactively carry out activities to develop Korea as a regional headquarters by not only attracting more Chinese investment, but also establishing the research and development centers of major investors from the EU, the United States and Japan,” said Kiwon Han, the Head of Invest Korea.