Invest KOREA

Signs agreement with IBK, KODIT, KOTEC to cooperate on FDI

Linking platforms of each agency to provide joint support for start-ups and SMEs to climb the global ladder to success

On May 17, KOTRA signed with three policy-based financing institutions—Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT), Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC)—agreeing to cooperate on attracting foreign investment to local start-ups and SMEs.

Based on the agreement, the three institutions will recommend promising Korean businesses that hope to attract foreign investment to KOTRA, which will in turn use its network of 36 overseas offices to find the businesses the right prospective foreign investors. The new partnership will help Korean companies climb the global ladder to success through cooperation in the public sector.

Earlier this year, KOTRA launched Invest KOREA Market Place (accessible at www.investkorea.org), a project that finds and supports new demands for investment so that companies can enter foreign markets and expand their global networks by attracting foreign investment. Meanwhile, IBK has been operating the Corporation Investment Information Plaza (CIIP, http://global.ciip.or.kr), an online database of promising companies hoping to attract foreign investment based on referrals from each policy-based financing institution.

The idea is to build a cooperation system that connects the different foreign investment platforms operated by each institution, and thereby more effectively help start-ups and SMEs find foreign investment partners.

According to Kim Jaehong, president and CEO of KOTRA, “As good ideas and technological competence are enough to ensure limitless possibilities in the 4th industrial revolution, KOTRA and the three policy-based financing institutions plan to use various strategies to provide as much support as possible from the initial stages, so that more Korean start-ups and SMEs can grow and enter global markets,” adding, “the partnership based on the recent agreement will help foster a foundation for local companies to utilize a business ecosystem that runs on a virtuous cycle of start-up, investment, and M&A, similar to that of the U.S. Silicon Valley.”

Source : Invest Korea (Apr. 18, 2017)