South Korea seems to be the “go-to” place vis-à-vis Asian foreign investments. Indeed, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) conducted a survey recently which found the region to be the second (out of seven) most attractive market in Asia for foreign investors. It was only beaten by Singapore.
Even though Singapore came in ahead of South Korea, it was the latter that scored highest in those areas relating to social infrastructure (like power supply stability, logistics and communications). It was the geopolitical risk questions that pushed it down a spot, given the ongoing tensions it has with North Korea. Further, 47 percent of survey respondents already had stakes in South Korea and a further 29 percent with plans to invest in the region. These figures are compounded by the fact that the FDI pledged to South Korea in the first three months of 2014 accelerated 49.1 percent as compared with 2013.
Other good news for foreign investors looking into South Korea is the recent indication made by the country’s finance minister that housing market regulations are about to ease. Given that – to date – these regulations have been most stringent, this is welcome news. The possible relaxation is due to the “protracted slump in transactions,” said Choi Kyoung-Hwan who was recently nominated to become the newest foreign minister.
In other financial news in the region, the public pension fund – The National Pension Service (NPS) – will be investing USD400m in Asian real estate, in an effort to further penetrate the property market.