ΆΓ  Kyonggi Province Awarded as Most Outstanding Province for FDI

Korea Times 2000.12.27

Kyonggi Province, with its excellent industrial and investment conditions, was recently selected as the most outstanding province in the country for foreign direct investment (FDI).

In a trade and investment policy meeting, organized by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy at the Convention and Exhibition Center, KyonggiProvince received a special commendation from President Kim Dae-jung as well as the presidential flag.

The FDI Award was presented for the first time this year after Korea attracted a total of over $10 billion in foreign investment, and KyonggiProvince took the honor of being the first recipient.

The award is presented to just one of the nation's 16 largest cities and provinces and testifies to its successful efforts at bringing in foreign direct investment.

According to Kyonggi Province officials, the province induced a total of $3.01 billion in foreign direct investment in the first nine months of this year, accounting for 29 percent of the nation's total of $10.4 billion and surpassing its target for this year of $3 billion.

``This year's performance has been most impressive when considering the fact that the total for the first nine months are $800 million more than the $2.2 billion achieved in all of last year,'' one province official said.

The remarkable performance also brought to $6.4 billion in foreign direct investments what was induced since Gov. Lim Chang-yuel took office in July 1998 as the second popularly elected governor.

``The total accumulated amount over the past two years is 2.2 times more than the $2.9 billion that was attracted in the previous 36 years,'' the official explained.

He said the impressive results had been made possible by the top priority that the provincial administration has been placing on foreign investments and the active participation of Gov. Lim.

The official said, ``Gov. Lim has been a key factor in tapping into potential foreign investments and foreign markets, leading investment inducement missions to countries like the United States and Japan and to the European Union.''

At the same time, Lim and the provincial administration recruited foreign investment experts and set up special task forces to help induce more foreign direct investment during the past two years.

Meanwhile, encouraged by the national recognition of its success in inducing foreign direct investment, the provincial administration is making concerted efforts to ensure that it leads to greater economic prosperity.

In particular, the official said, the administration is hoping to channel the foreign investment into areas like the environment, tourism and social overhead capital projects.

``Another area that we are focusing on is to ensure that the foreign investments are more than just an injection of capital but opportunities to advance the industrial structure of the province,'' the official elaborated.

In the manufacturing sector, the administration is encouraging foreign investors to channel their funds into the modernization of existing facilities to improve the sophistication in manufacturing standards.