Invest KOREA

KOTRA held the 'Japan Investment Promotion Seminar' on Dec. 1 in Tokyo, Japan
First in-person event of investment promotion after the Covid-19 outbreak to promote Korea's investment climate

KOTRA (President Yu Jeong-yeol) launched the 'Japan Investment Promotion Seminar and Consultation,' with the participation of roughly 100 promising Japanese corporate officials interested in entering the Korean market, on Dec. 1.

This time, KOTRA partnered up with Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (MUFG), one of the top three major banks in Japan, to run the event. MUFG is an arm of the Mitsubishi Financial Group, which is the biggest in size in Japan. The bank manages many Japanese corporate clients of global scope. Plus, the cases of the companies filing an investment report with Korea through MUFG came to be worth USD 8 million, and the large-scale project carried out in 2022 brought the corresponding figure up to USD 80 million, a significant increase on-year.

An official in charge of Investment in Korea at MUFG noted, "Main clients' demands for new overseas entries remained stagnant due to the spread of COVID-19, but recently they have become revinvigorated," adding, "In particular, Japanese business' demand for secondary batteries, chips and other sectors led by Korean companies on a global stage, is expected to escalate."

At the seminar, MUFG briefed about Korea's economic trends, which were analyzed from Japan's perspective, as well as the cases when Japan-based part and material firms made forays into the Korean market. Later, the law firm Kim &Chang explained Korea's labor policy direction and compared the differences in labor laws in Korea and Japan. Also, the tax consulting firm Starcis Law delivered a presentation on Korea's tax policy, one of the big interests of potential investors. In addition, KOTRA explained the Foreign Investment Ombudsman System and cases when grievances were resolved for the sake of participating investors information.

Japan's reported investment expenses in Korea recorded USD 1.43 billion as of 2019, but the figure dipped to USD 790 million by a large margin due to the 2020 pandemic. The year 2021 witnessed a recovery of USD 1.2 billion, and this year, as of the third quarter of 2022, the expenses have already reached USD 1 billion, showing a moderate recovery after the outbreak of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, KOTRA plans to send a delegation in December to attract investments from Japanese companies with key technologies, thereby enabling (Korea's) active response to the trend of Japan's growing investment in Korea.

Director Kim Sam-sik of KOTRA's Regional Headquarters in Japan expressed, "The October visa exemption measures between the two sides have allowed more free visiting back and forth between the twos, and hence the bilateral economic trade has started to gain traction," adding, "I anticipate that the event serves as an excellent chance for Japan's promising enterprises to check out the potential for investing in Korea after the COVID-19 pandemic.



Source : Invest KOREA (Dec. 1, 2022)