Gyeonggi Province Beckons Foreign Investors
Country’s Biggest Province Targets $4 Bil. in FDI on Improved Business Atmosphere
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Investors highlight incentives, tax breaks and a friendly atmosphere are Gyeonggi Province's winning points in attracting foreign investment, but the governor of the country's biggest economic state says more improvements are set to be made in the near future.
``To keep an edge against the rising competition from Hong Kong, Singapore, China and other Southeast Asian countries, the province is making active efforts to expand its existing support system and create new ones,'' Governor Kim Moon-soo of the nation's largest self-autonomous province said in a written interview with The Korea Times.
Why Gyeonggi?
Some of the pillars supporting these moves are the state's plans to develop a metropolitan free economic zone, build the West Coast industrial belt linking key cities, including Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, Ansan, Siheung, Gimpo, Paju and Gaeseong, and create the Pyeongtaek Port as an export base. These plans will put Gyeonggi Province at the center of the Pan-Yellow Sea Economic Sphere, Kim said.
The Incheon International Airport, the world's second-largest cargo airport, also helps incoming and outgoing freights that add a string to positioning Gyeonggi as the logistics hub in both ocean and air.
Road infrastructures such as express railways and road networks are also being blueprinted to cut down traffic congestion, in order to cut traveling time in and out of the province.
``We aim to provide not only an ideal business atmosphere, but convenient living circumstances as well,'' he said, elaborating on the plans for the new upscale Gwanggyo New Town in the province's capital city, Suwon. ``The new residential area will provide a stable source of homes so that our foreign partners and their staff can live comfortably at affordable costs.''
The province surrounding Seoul is already home to more than 2,500 foreign enterprises, 37,000 plants, 550,000 small businesses, 2,100 research centers and 48 industrial complexes, but Kim said the provincial government aims to attract $4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) within the next three years.
In order to make such achievements, Kim says not only are improvements that meet the eye crucial, but also the hidden hurdles that can hamper foreign businesses.
Ongoing Efforts
After hearing back from the currently residing multinational firms, some of the planned efforts are geared toward easing labor discords, providing legal and patent law support and other readily available one-stop services to answer sporadically rising questions.
Kim added that there are still long ways to go, but the province of 11 million people has been the country's growth engine and will continue to materialize its full potential to attract global companies ranging from IT, biotechnology and manufacturing industries.
3M, Bosch, Siemens, Merck, LG.Philips LCD, Volvo, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group and BOC are some of the major firms operating in Gyeonggi.
Aside from the global players, the province signed a deal with 18 local companies, including those in law, accounting, labor consulting and patent administration, to support the foreign-invested enterprises through free online service.
More Than Business
Kim, who stresses today's borderless competition, says strengthening trade does not only spur bilateral and multilateral economic benefits, but it also warms up international relations.
He specifically focuses on strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance, as Gyeonggi is home to approximately 90 percent of the U.S. forces stationed in Korea. Moreover, the province's Pyeongtaek City will soon be home to the headquarters for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
The recently sealed Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), which still awaits ratification from both sides, will also give a boost in bilateral trade, said Kim.
U.S. companies invested about $1.7 billion in Gyeonggi in 2006. The province is optimistic that figures will turn upward when the trade accord goes into effect.
Concerning when the ratification will take place, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler _ who was Washington's chief negotiator, said during her recent visit to Korea that the approval process is estimated to be over in the U.S. by the early half of next year.
Another rather carefully predicted boost comes from Gyeonggi's close proximity to North Korea.
As the South-North Korea relations strengthen, which were recently added with more weight following the second inter-Korean summit, the northern Gyeonggi area is emerging as the center for the two Koreas' exchange.
If and when the Special Peace and Cooperation Zone is established in the West Sea, experts anticipate that the province bordering the North will reap benefits from the rush of economic activities.
Kim has already been reaching out to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, which was originally part of Gyeonggi Province, to fortify cooperation so that the province can play an influential role in building a renewed, mutually beneficial relationship between the two sides.
On the Move
Leading the van to attract FDI, Kim has already traveled to Dubai, Belgium, Germany, France, among other countries, to meet with business and government leaders and discuss investment possibilities.
Starting Oct. 26 through Nov. 4, the governor will make his first trip to the U.S. since his inauguration, during which he will meet with company leaders and ranking officials in five states.
Kim expressed his excitement about the FDI mission and said he hopes the existing package that Gyeonggi has to offer, coupled with more to come, will invite the cutting-edge firms in the U.S.
