Foreign investors expected to visit Gaeseong complex next month

    Foreign investors are highly likely to visit North Korea‘s industrial complex located in the border city of Gaeseong on Oct. 15 to look for investment opportunities, Invest Korea said Thursday.

The nation’s investment promotion agency under the wing of KOTRA said it has pushed for the visit as a sideline event of its annual foreign investment promotion event, called Investment Week, which is to be held between Oct. 13 and 15 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. 

“The on-site visit of foreign investors to the North Korean industrial complex was designed to raise the understanding of the district as an investment destination, with the launch of the Korea-China free trade agreement nearing at hand,” Moon So-young of Invest Korea said.

Under the trade pact signed in November 2014 between Korea and China, products manufactured at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex can be exported with tariff reductions and “Made in Korea” labels.

The 2015 Invest Week includes the visit to the North Korean industrial district as its main theme is to develop business models to maximize the effect of the Korea-China free trade agreement, Invest Korea officials said.

The Korean government has pushed the Assembly to ratify the Korea-China FTA by yea rend in an effort to boost investments and to lift falling exports since the Trade Ministry forwarded the accord to the National Assembly on Aug. 31.

Despite concerns about Korea’s deepening dependency on the Chinese economy, Invest Korea drives up the promotion of Korea’s closer economic ties with China for foreign investment attractions.

“Investors in Korea can take advantage of Korea’s entry to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,” the Invest Korea head Han Ki-won said.

“In addition, Korea became the world’s fifth offshore hub of renminbi last year. With the move, companies investing in Korea can directly conduct commercial transactions with the Chinese currency when they trade with China.”

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)