Foreigners who invest in South Korea will get more cash support from the government starting next year.
Currently, the country provides around 15 billion won (NZ$18.85 billion) cash support for foreign investment annually. It is considering expanding this support by two to three times, according to an online report by Korea Times.
The report says while Korean businesses have increased investment overseas in search of lower labour costs and new markets, inbound investment by foreigners has remained stagnant over the past few years. Hence, the government has been seeking ways to attract more investment here, as countries around the world come up with various incentives and reforms.
Citing the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the report adds that the government plans to special investment zones specialising in services industries in September. The government has been paying attention to the services sector over the past few years.
According to Statistics Korea, 70.8% of those employed in Korea were working in the services sector as of January. The sector has, however, remained relatively uncompetitive compared with the country’s strong manufacturing sector.
The idea of creating the special zone for foreign investment in the services sector came as 66% of foreign direct investment in the country is in this sector. These zones are likely to be set up in metropolitan areas such as Seoul, Busan and Daejeon.
