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Trade/Investment
Export and Import Trends for July 2015
□ South Korea’s exports fell 3.3 percent to $46.6 billion and imports decreased 15.3 percent to $38.8 billion in July from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus, for the 42 consecutive month, of $7.76 billion. □ The volume of overseas shipments rose while unit prices fell as a result of factors such as falling oil prices and global oversupply. - By product, exports including petro products and petrochemical products increased. Shipments of steel, ships, and semiconductors rose, while those of automobiles, mobile telecom equipment, and home appliances decreased. Exports of OLED and cosmetics also showed steady gains. By region, exports declined for most regions amid the global trade slowdown. - Exports to Vietnam increased sharply due to increasing local production of South Korean wireless communication devices and home electronic appliances. □ Unit prices of major raw materials continued to decrease and imports of consumer goods fell slightly, while capital imports remained strong. □ ○ South Korea’s export volume maintained an upward trend despite a continued decline in exports in terms of dollar-denominated value. The profitability of export companies will likely improve slightly as won-denominated exports increased 8.4 percent in July thanks to a more favorable exchange rate. ○ The downward trend in overseas shipments could continue for the time being due to unfavorable external conditions such as a decline in world trade, falling oil prices, and the weakening yen and euro. - Exports of semiconductors and solid state drives (SSDs) are likely to show solid growth as a result of rising demand for automobiles, smartphones (in emerging countries), and wireless communication devices on the back of new product introductions. ○ The Korean government plans to focus on seeking new opportunities to promote exports of products such as cosmetics, SSDs, and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), while implementing measures to reinvigorate short-term exports announced in April and other steps aimed at strengthening export competitiveness in July as scheduled. date2015-08-10
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Trade/Investment
MOTIE Minister Yoon Speaks on Ways to Strengthen Exporters' Competitiveness
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick gave a speech at a breakfast meeting hosted by the World Class 300 in Seoul yesterday. In the speech, the minister discussed various ways to strengthen the competitiveness of local exporters against unfavorable external conditions. The World Class 300 is a government-sponsored program to support local small- and medium-sized companies to become global market leaders. date2015-07-30
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Trade/Investment
ICT Export and Import Trends in June 2015
□ South Korea’s exports of information and communications technology (ICT) products increased by 0.2 percent to $13.95 billion, and imports decreased by 2.4 percent to $7.28 billion in June 2015 from a year earlier, resulting in a monthly surplus of $6.67 billion. □ : Shipments of key items including mobile phones and system semiconductors rose in spite of unfavorable external conditions, such as a contracting global ICT market and deteriorating trade environment. ICT exports rose 2.0 percent in May and 0.2 percent in June, extending their growth, by a small margin, for the second consecutive month. - By product, exports of cell phones, semiconductors, and computers and peripherals increased, while those of display panels and digital TVs dropped from a year earlier. - By region, shipments to the European Union (EU) decreased as a result of a slowing economy and a weaker Euro, while those to Asia and the United States (US) increased. Exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries jumped on the back of rising demand for cell phone parts and semiconductors. □ : Year-on-year ICT imports decreased for the first time in 2015. - By product, a rise in imports of cell phones and semiconductors was offset by a fall in incoming shipments of computers and peripherals and digital TVs. By region, imports from the US jumped, while those from the EU, China and the ASEAN countries decreased. □ South Korea’s total ICT trade showed a surplus of $6.77 billion for the month of June due to a positive balance in such key items as semiconductors, cell phones, and display panels, contributing to the country’s overall trade surplus of $10.24 billion. ○South Korea’s ICT trade has registered consistent surpluses, showing a positive balance of $4.82 billion with China (including Hong Kong), $0.29 billion with the EU, and $0.77 billion with the US in June 2015. The country recorded a trade deficit of $0.36 billion with Japan for the month. □ ICT exports during the first half of 2015 fell by 0.2 percent from a year earlier to $83.59 billion while imports rose 4.1 percent to $43.97 billion, resulting in a surplus of $39.62 billion. date2015-07-30
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Trade/Investment
South Korea to Launch Website to Improve Foreign Investment Rules
South Korea to Launch Website to Improve Foreign Investment Rules South Korea plans to launch a special website this week dedicated to improving regulations on foreign investment in the country. Starting July 27, the website (http://e.better.go.kr) will communicate and share the latest information about changes in foreign investment rules. Foreign invested companies are encouraged to visit the website and suggest ideas on improving the rules, after which they will receive fe date2015-07-20
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Trade/Investment
South Korea Steps Up Efforts to Promote Exports
South Korea Steps Up Efforts to Promote Exports South Korea is stepping up efforts to promote the country's exports in order to cope with rising global economic uncertainty, including the slowing Chinese economy and Greek debt crisis. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and other relevant ministries have recently unveiled a comprehensive package of measures to enhance the export competitiveness of Asia's fourth-largest economy. To find out about the latest ex date2015-07-17
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Trade/Investment
Export and Import Trends for June 2015
□ Korea’s exports fell 1.8 percent to $46.9 billion and imports dropped 13.6 percent to $36.7 billion in June from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus, for the 41st consecutive month, of $10.2 billion. The slowdown in exports eased in June thanks to two and a half more working days, a pause in the fall of oil prices, and the completion of maintenance activities in the petrochemical and petro product industries. - By product, shipments of automobiles, mobile telecommunication devices, and steel showed an increase. The recent recovery in crude prices mitigated a decrease in exports of petro products and petrochemicals. However, shipments of semiconductors, ships, textiles, and flat panel displays decreased. By region, exports to ASEAN, the US, and China gained. The unit prices of major raw materials continued to decrease, and imports of capital and consumer goods increased. - Both exports and imports were stagnant in the first half of the year due to negative external conditions such as falling oil prices, the weakening yen and euro, and slowdowns in global trade and import demand from China. 1. Oil prices plunged 46.5 percent from the same period a year ago, leading to a sharp decline in exports of petroleum products and petrochemical products. 2. The weakening yen and euro also aggravated the price competitiveness of automobiles, general machinery, and other competitive items in the major export markets, causing a downturn in exports to the country’s major export markets. 3. Global economic growth slowed as the world economy grew less than expected and import demand from China declined. - Export conditions are expected to improve slightly for some items, helped by the launch of new products including automobiles and wireless communication devices. Nevertheless, external threats will continue, such as the won's appreciation against major currencies, a slowdown in imports by China, and political unrest in Europe. - The Korean government plans to announce a special package of measures this month to help strengthen the country’s export competitiveness, while continuing to monitor export conditions at home and abroad. These measures will focus on improving the competitiveness of the country’s core industries through innovation in the manufacturing sector in the mid- to long-term, and on diversifying export items and markets. date2015-07-15
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Trade/Investment
72 percent of the businesses say that joining the economic delegation helps
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 13 that according to its survey conducted on a total of 177 SME's and 31 economic organizations that have joined an economic delegation to assess the level of satisfaction and effects of FTA enjoyed by the delegation members, 72 percent of the SME's answered that joining an economic delegation as part of summit diplomacy have helped their business. As for details, 58.7 percent of them answered that the experience date2015-07-13
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Trade/Investment
South Korea’s FDI Trends in the First Half of 2015
□ Foreign direct investmentFDI) to South Korea in the first half of 2015 decreased 10 percent from the first half of 2014. The declared amount fell 14.2 percent to $ 8.87 billion and the received amount fell 19.8 percent to $ 6.06 billion from a year earlier. In spite of the YoY downturn, the numbers still posted the second-highest results after 2014, led by signs of investment recovery in the second quarter of 2015. □ - Potential negative factors are the impact of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and an economic contraction in Europe originating in Greece. Despite the negative factors, signs of a recovery in investments are likely to continue, due to the high interest of overseas investors in the central government's approval of the construction of two large-scale integrated resorts in the second half of 2015 and aspiration on improved investments from China by the implementation of the Korea-China FTA. - South Korea plans to achieve $ 20 billion in FDI for the first time in 2015. To this end, the country will support promising areas such as integrated resorts, cultural content, and parts and materials production, through one-on-one consultation meetings between small and medium-sized enterprises and overseas investors, and investment attraction activities with high-ranking government officials including ministers and vice-ministers. It will also hold small-scale, custom-tailored IR sessions, which will include inviting major potential investors to South Korea, and joint IR sessions held by domestic companies and regional governments. date2015-07-08
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Trade/Investment
South Korea Appoints 21 Foreign Investment Officials
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and 20 other ministries each appointed a designated official to communicate externally with each other and foreign-invested companies in order to attract more overseas money to South Korea. These officials will collect opinions and suggestions from foreign-invested companies to improve the country's laws and regulations on foreign investment and also help resolve difficulties the companies face doing business in Asia's fourth-largest economy. The MOTIE's Deputy Minister for International Trade and Investment Kwon Pyong-oh introduced the ministries' newly-appointed foreign investment officials at the meeting of the Foreign Investment Advisory Council held in Seoul yesterday. During the meeting, Deputy Minister Kwon explained South Korea's efforts to improve its foreign investment policies and systems to key representatives of foreign-invested companies, including British Chamber of Commerce Chairman Michael Reed and European Chamber of Commerce President Jean-Christophe Darbes. date2015-06-18
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Trade/Investment
Government agencies assign foreign investment staff as a communication channel between them and foreign investors
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on June 17 that a total of 21 government agencies including the MOTIE, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Land and Infrastructure and Transport have assigned foreign investment staff at the office to serve as a communication channel between foreign investors and the agency and also respond to foreign investors' complaints. Their primary task is to listen to the opinions of foreign investors on new regulations when a law is revised or a new law is enacted, and also solve their problems with relevant government agencies. The staff put in charge of foreign investor services at the 21 agencies were present at the "Foreign Investment Advisory Group Meeting of the First Half of 2015" at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Seoul on June 17. Also present at the meeting were CEO's of major foreign-invested companies and chairmen of foreign chambers of commerce in Korea. At the meeting, the CEO's of foreign-invested companies said, "It has been difficult communicating with the relevant agencies directly. The appointment of foreign investor services staff at each of the agencies will make it much easier for us to communicate with the agencies." They have made 17 proposals, and MOTIE agreed to cooperate with relevant agencies on all the proposals except the ones that have been accepted or implemented already. The Korean government agreed to provide potential foreign investors with accurate information on any measures taken against MERS. * Short version date2015-06-17