By Umesh Desai and Kelvin Soh
REUTERS – In a world awash with cheap cash from major central banks, it may seem ironic that companies in the top emerging market growth hotspot cannot get their hands on reasonably priced bank loans.
But Asia‘s credit landscape has changed dramatically over the past year and January provided the strongest evidence to date, with dollar lending by banks virtually non-existent except for the most pristine names — and at very rich prices.
Borrowers rushed into the more fickle and demanding bond markets, catching investors early in the year but still paying through their nose for the cash.
The flurry included eight top-tier Hong Kong-based companies that hit debt markets with a record $8 billion worth of dollar bonds in January.
“There’s never been a period with such a level of activity from Hong Kong corporates in the bond market. It’s unprecedented,” said Anthony Arnaudy, head of debt capital markets for North-east Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.
Hong Kong property developer Nan Fung International Holdings was a first time bond issuer in January, as was property firm Wheelock (0020.HK).
Spreads widened and yields soared. Bond issuers in Hong Kong paid a mark-up of as much as 4 percentage points above U.S. debt yields to secure 5-year funds, about 10 times more than they did in 2007 before the U.S. subprime crisis.
The risk, say bankers, is now of a long-term jump in funding costs in the region as U.S. and European banks stay away.
At first glance what has been happening in Asian credit markets might seem incongruous .
On the one hand, the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have pumped cheap dollars and euros into the financial system to support their faltering economies. U.S. rates are set to stay near zero for at least two more years.
And yet corporates in fast-growing Asia are not able to get banks to lend them dollars or euros. This had not happened before. Not in 2009, and certainly not in any of the previous episodes when financial markets were this liquid.
But the past year has been different. The easiest carry trade in global markets has been disrupted by trussed up bank balance-sheets, the stringency of Basel III capital requirements and, most of all, the drawn out European debt crisis.
It’s not the best time to be seeking foreign currency loans, yet there’s potentially huge demand. At least $14 billion of dollar, euro and Hong Kong dollar denominated loans are scheduled to mature this year and might come up for refinancing.
And borrowers are sensing the terrain is not going to shift in their favour anytime soon. Hong Kong’s Nan Fung returned quickly to the dollar bond market with another issue this month, paying 5.15 percent for 5-year debt.
Others too, have been adapting to the changing game. Singapore’s MMI holdings decided to replace its loan with a bond, India’s Power Finance Corporation (PWFC.NS) had to cut the tenor on a loan proposal, and Hong Kong’s IFC Development both cut its bond offering by more than a third and upped its yield.
TAPS RUN DRY?
Forced by the turn in the credit cycle, borrowers have sought out alternate sources of funding, shifting to more liquid markets in Singapore or Japan.
Henderson Land (0012.HK), for instance, issued a S$200 million 5-year bond in Singapore late last year, while Cheung Kong Holdings (0001.HK), controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, also raised its bond offerings in the city-state.
Even so, loan volumes have collapsed. Across Asia, there were 28 deals totalling $3.4 billion in January 2012, a tiny fraction of the 63 deals worth $19.5 billion in January 2011.
That is worrisome, given the mountain of loans to be refinanced in Asia this year. Australia has about $53 billion maturing this year, Hong Kong has $26 billion and Singapore has $17 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.
“Even with the monetary easing, some banks are trying to preserve capital, which will have an effect on loan pricing,” said Benjamin Ng, head of Asia syndicate and acquisition finance at Citigroup.
One fear is that European banks, traditionally the biggest providers of foreign funding in Asia, will continue deleveraging. Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate European banks, excluding British ones, have claims of about $680 billion on Asia.
No one is quite sure how much of that cash has left the region in 2011, but one thing is certain: these banks are not committing new funds to Asia. And the billions of euros the European authorities are injecting into their banking systems are simply being recycled into safe deposits at the ECB and government debt.
“Not surprisingly, pricing on Asian loans has not budged much and the higher pricing is here to stay for some time to come,” said Birendra Baid, head of loan syndication, Asia-Pacific at Deutsche Bank.
Local banks, such as Singapore’s DBS (DBSM.SI) and India’s ICICI Bank, have sensed there are rich pickings among the assets the Europeans are offloading.
The problem though is that the foreign currency part of their balance-sheets is already stretched, and Basel III will require them to be even more prudent about managing risk and liquidity.
Foreign currency loan growth at most Asian banks has hit the 40-70 percent annual pace, Morgan Stanley estimates, which means their lending in dollars has been far faster than the 15-20 percent average rise in overall credit.
Moreover, dollar deposit growth has not kept pace, which has meant the ratio of dollar loans to deposits is upwards of an unhealthy 100 percent for most Asian banks, particularly those in South Korea and Thailand.
In Korea for instance, savings banks, which are big non-banking lenders in the economy, deposited $5 billion with their local lobby group late last year, preferring low yields over any exposure to risk.
“I don’t think it is a crisis by any stretch,” said Viktor Hjort, head of Asian credit strategy at Morgan Stanley.
“What you have though is a situation where over the past two years Asia’s grown used to there being this very generous and very cheap access to dollar funding by Asian banks.
“That’s now much more constrained because lending has already expanded aggressively over the last few years and the European banks, historical providers of cheap wholesale funding, are pulling out.”
The implications are two-fold. One is the risk that Asian banks join the issuance queue aggressively, going on a dollar-funding binge as they try to cherry-pick assets and expand balance-sheets — what Morgan Stanley terms the “dollarisation” of Asian banks.
Australia’s Macquarie Bank kicked off that country’s yankee bond issuance for 2012 this week, offering 420 basis points over U.S. Treasury yields for a 5-year U.S. dollar bond.
The other risk is a more permanent jump in funding costs for Asia, at least until the U.S. and European banks are able to come back into the emerging market wholesale lending business. Even though private banks and funds have stepped into the space vacated by the banks, Asia’s funding needs are growing.
PRICIER DOLLARS
There has already been a marked jump in borrowing costs. And a simultaneous and worrying trend of banks invoking “market disruption clauses” to increase pricing on pre-committed loans to better reflect the rise in their own cost of funds.
One interesting example is the refinancing by the top-tier IFC Development Ltd in Hong Kong, which owns the building of the same name in the city’s business district. It initially wanted to borrow HK$17 billion, but had to slash it by 71 percent to HK$5 billion, hit by the liquidity squeeze. It also had to lift the pricing by about 20 percent to attract more lenders.
Hong Kong-based Kerry Properties (0683.HK) is currently offering 230 basis points for a HK$2.4 billion three-year loan, 70 percent or 135 bps higher than it paid on a five-year loan in January 2011.
Loan pricing in Hong Kong needs to be at least 200 basis points over HIBOR, even for top rated companies, according to several loan bankers. This is almost double what was being offered about a year ago.
The all-inclusive pricing for a 5-year loan for a BBB rated borrower in Australia is close to 300 bps, a jump of 100 bps since November.
Simon Milne, treasury consultant at iSelect, an Australian insurance broker, said borrowers were facing the most difficult market conditions he has ever seen.
Milne, who has more than 20 years experience in the Australian debt markets, including four as treasurer of gaming company Crown Ltd (CWN.AX), says top-tier firms are still able to get loans at competitive rates. It’s the mid-range corporates that are struggling. “The risk of pulling a deal has increased,” he said.
Across in India, the Export-Import Bank of India, a frequent borrower in offshore loan markets with a good following given its status as a wholly state-owned borrower, is borrowing up to $250 million for 3 years, paying an all-inclusive charge of 250 bps over Libor. That is nearly double the 140 bps over Libor that it paid on a US$150 million three-year loan in March 2011.
(Writing by Vidya Ranganathan; Additional reporting by Prakash Chakravarti, Jacqueline Poh, Michael Flaherty and Stephen Aldred in Hong Kong, Sharon Klyne in Sydney,; Sumeet Chatterjee in Mumbai and; Yoo Choonsik in Seoul; Editing by Alex Richardson)http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
2012年2月20日星期一
2012年2月8日星期三
S Korea Banks' Household Loans Fall By Record Amount In January
SEOUL -(Dow Jones)- South Korean banks’ lending to households fell the most on record in January because of lower mortgage loans amid sluggish housing transactions, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.
Banks’ overall household lending stood at KRW452.2 trillion in January, down KRW2.8 trillion from December 2011 and the biggest month-on-month decline on record. Such loans rose KRW1.8 trillion in December from the previous month.
The BOK attributed January’s drop in lending to lower mortgage loans, caused by seasonally weak housing transactions, as well as hefty loans in the previous month, as homebuyers hurried to settle their purchases before the year-end expiry of property acquisition tax benefits.
Mortgage lending to households fell KRW800 billion on month to KRW305.3 trillion in January, the largest monthly fall since a KRW1.2 trillion decline in May 2007. Such loans rose KRW2.5 trillion in December.
“January’s sharp fall in household loans is a one-off, which occurred amid the government’s efforts to reduce such loans,” an official at the BOK’s financial market department said.
Growth in household mortgage loans has slowed in recent months as commercial banks refrained from lending after the government in June tightened rules to curb household debt and prevent potential defaults from destabilizing the economy.
Bank lending to domestic businesses rose sharply last month, as companies resumed borrowing after repaying debt in December to improve their year-end debt ratios. The rise was also due to big firms’ efforts to secure funds amid worsening global funding conditions, the BOK said.
Bank loans to companies rose KRW6.8 trillion to KRW563 trillion in January, compared with a month-on-month decline of KRW9.1 trillion in December.
The lending data for households and businesses don’t include loans by non-bank financial companies.
In a separate statement, the BOK said the country’s broadest measure of money supply, known as L, rose 9.4% in December from a year earlier to KRW2,974.4 trillion, accelerating from a 8.9% gain in November.
The L money supply includes cash, deposits at financial institutions and money-market instruments.
South Korea’s M2 money supply rose 4.4% from a year earlier to KRW1,756.6 trillion, the same pace as in November.
M1, the narrowest gauge of money supply, rose 1.6% from a year earlier to KRW432.6 trillion versus a 2.0% rise in the previous month.
M1 comprises cash in circulation, demand deposits and savings at financial institutions. M2 consists of M1 plus time deposits with maturities of less than two years.
-By In-Soo Nam, Dow Jones Newswires; 822-3700-1902; In-Soo.Nam@dowjones.com
Banks’ overall household lending stood at KRW452.2 trillion in January, down KRW2.8 trillion from December 2011 and the biggest month-on-month decline on record. Such loans rose KRW1.8 trillion in December from the previous month.
The BOK attributed January’s drop in lending to lower mortgage loans, caused by seasonally weak housing transactions, as well as hefty loans in the previous month, as homebuyers hurried to settle their purchases before the year-end expiry of property acquisition tax benefits.
Mortgage lending to households fell KRW800 billion on month to KRW305.3 trillion in January, the largest monthly fall since a KRW1.2 trillion decline in May 2007. Such loans rose KRW2.5 trillion in December.
“January’s sharp fall in household loans is a one-off, which occurred amid the government’s efforts to reduce such loans,” an official at the BOK’s financial market department said.
Growth in household mortgage loans has slowed in recent months as commercial banks refrained from lending after the government in June tightened rules to curb household debt and prevent potential defaults from destabilizing the economy.
Bank lending to domestic businesses rose sharply last month, as companies resumed borrowing after repaying debt in December to improve their year-end debt ratios. The rise was also due to big firms’ efforts to secure funds amid worsening global funding conditions, the BOK said.
Bank loans to companies rose KRW6.8 trillion to KRW563 trillion in January, compared with a month-on-month decline of KRW9.1 trillion in December.
The lending data for households and businesses don’t include loans by non-bank financial companies.
In a separate statement, the BOK said the country’s broadest measure of money supply, known as L, rose 9.4% in December from a year earlier to KRW2,974.4 trillion, accelerating from a 8.9% gain in November.
The L money supply includes cash, deposits at financial institutions and money-market instruments.
South Korea’s M2 money supply rose 4.4% from a year earlier to KRW1,756.6 trillion, the same pace as in November.
M1, the narrowest gauge of money supply, rose 1.6% from a year earlier to KRW432.6 trillion versus a 2.0% rise in the previous month.
M1 comprises cash in circulation, demand deposits and savings at financial institutions. M2 consists of M1 plus time deposits with maturities of less than two years.
-By In-Soo Nam, Dow Jones Newswires; 822-3700-1902; In-Soo.Nam@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 02-07-122214ET Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
2012年1月31日星期二
Peter O'Malley teams with South Korea investor in bid for Dodgers
Peter O’Malley’s bid to buy back the Dodgers is supported by financing from the South Korean conglomerate E-Land, two people familiar with the Dodgers’ sale process said Monday.
If the O’Malley bid is successful, E-Land Chairman Song Soo Park will become a major investor in the Dodgers, one of the people said.
The ownership group also would have investors from Los Angeles. O’Malley has had discussions with Tony Ressler, a minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and co-founder of Los Angeles-based Ares Capital, according to a person familiar with the talks.
O’Malley would be the Dodgers’ chief executive. Foreign investment is not necessarily an obstacle to MLB ownership; the Seattle Mariners’ ownership group includes a significant Japanese presence.
An E-Land spokesman confirmed Tuesday the company is involved in the Dodgers bidding but would not elaborate. O’Malley declined to comment.
On Tuesday, as South Koreans woke up to the news that local investors might own one of America’s most storied baseball teams, the Korean Baseball Organization — the top professional league in South Korea — had no comment.
Among the baseball fans in chat rooms and on bulletin boards, the reaction leaned negative.
Rather than being proud of owning a foreign franchise as a way to extend Korean cultural and economic influence abroad, many fans here wondered why their moneyed elite didn’t invest their millions in Korean clubs. And, despite the experience of the Mariners, the fans expressed skepticism that foreign-backed ownership would be permitted.
“If an outsider could purchase a Major League Baseball team, then Chinese companies would’ve gotten their hands on it already,” wrote one bulletin board contributor.
Wrote another: “Why won’t they invest in finding a new Korean Baseball team instead?”
The people who liked the idea said it would pave the way for more Korean talent to make its way to the major leagues.
“Having a hand in the Dodgers will allow Korean players to more easily make the jump. It’s good marketing,” wrote one fan.
O’Malley is one of at least eight prospective owners to make last Friday’s first cut.
The others include East Coast investment baron Steven Cohen, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and groups led by Magic Johnson, Beverly Hills developer Alan Casden, Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre, investor and civic leader Stanley Gold and the family of the late Roy Disney, and New York media investor Leo Hindery and investor Tom Barrack of Santa Monica-based Colony Capital.
Frank McCourt, the Dodgers’ departing owner, expects the team to sell for at least $1.5 billion. That would be almost double the previous record price for a major league club, set when the Ricketts family bought the Chicago Cubs for $845 million in 2009.
Under O’Malley, the Dodgers were pioneers in international baseball, particularly in Asia. In 1994, three years before O’Malley sold the team to News Corp., Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park became the first Korean player to appear in a major league game.
In November, O’Malley joined Park and former Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo — the second Japanese player to appear in the majors — in an investment partnership to own and operate the Dodgers’ old spring home in Vero Beach, Fla. Park and Nomo agreed to use their homeland connections to help lure teams, camps and clinics to Vero Beach.
E-Land, a dominant fashion retailer in South Korea, has expanded its business interests into such areas as hotels and resorts, restaurants and construction, according to the company website. The company is family-run and privately held.
According to the E-Land website, the company opened its first U.S. retail store in 2007 at a mall in Stamford, Conn., under the brand name “Who A.U.” The slogan for the brand: California Dream.
bill.shaikin@latimes.com
twitter.com/BillShaikin
Shaikin reported from Los Angeles and Glionna reported from Seoul.
http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
If the O’Malley bid is successful, E-Land Chairman Song Soo Park will become a major investor in the Dodgers, one of the people said.
The ownership group also would have investors from Los Angeles. O’Malley has had discussions with Tony Ressler, a minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and co-founder of Los Angeles-based Ares Capital, according to a person familiar with the talks.
O’Malley would be the Dodgers’ chief executive. Foreign investment is not necessarily an obstacle to MLB ownership; the Seattle Mariners’ ownership group includes a significant Japanese presence.
An E-Land spokesman confirmed Tuesday the company is involved in the Dodgers bidding but would not elaborate. O’Malley declined to comment.
On Tuesday, as South Koreans woke up to the news that local investors might own one of America’s most storied baseball teams, the Korean Baseball Organization — the top professional league in South Korea — had no comment.
Among the baseball fans in chat rooms and on bulletin boards, the reaction leaned negative.
Rather than being proud of owning a foreign franchise as a way to extend Korean cultural and economic influence abroad, many fans here wondered why their moneyed elite didn’t invest their millions in Korean clubs. And, despite the experience of the Mariners, the fans expressed skepticism that foreign-backed ownership would be permitted.
“If an outsider could purchase a Major League Baseball team, then Chinese companies would’ve gotten their hands on it already,” wrote one bulletin board contributor.
Wrote another: “Why won’t they invest in finding a new Korean Baseball team instead?”
The people who liked the idea said it would pave the way for more Korean talent to make its way to the major leagues.
“Having a hand in the Dodgers will allow Korean players to more easily make the jump. It’s good marketing,” wrote one fan.
O’Malley is one of at least eight prospective owners to make last Friday’s first cut.
The others include East Coast investment baron Steven Cohen, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and groups led by Magic Johnson, Beverly Hills developer Alan Casden, Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre, investor and civic leader Stanley Gold and the family of the late Roy Disney, and New York media investor Leo Hindery and investor Tom Barrack of Santa Monica-based Colony Capital.
Frank McCourt, the Dodgers’ departing owner, expects the team to sell for at least $1.5 billion. That would be almost double the previous record price for a major league club, set when the Ricketts family bought the Chicago Cubs for $845 million in 2009.
Under O’Malley, the Dodgers were pioneers in international baseball, particularly in Asia. In 1994, three years before O’Malley sold the team to News Corp., Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park became the first Korean player to appear in a major league game.
In November, O’Malley joined Park and former Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo — the second Japanese player to appear in the majors — in an investment partnership to own and operate the Dodgers’ old spring home in Vero Beach, Fla. Park and Nomo agreed to use their homeland connections to help lure teams, camps and clinics to Vero Beach.
E-Land, a dominant fashion retailer in South Korea, has expanded its business interests into such areas as hotels and resorts, restaurants and construction, according to the company website. The company is family-run and privately held.
According to the E-Land website, the company opened its first U.S. retail store in 2007 at a mall in Stamford, Conn., under the brand name “Who A.U.” The slogan for the brand: California Dream.
bill.shaikin@latimes.com
twitter.com/BillShaikin
Shaikin reported from Los Angeles and Glionna reported from Seoul.
http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
2012年1月29日星期日
Mega hub of opportunities
ABU DHABI – UAE’s investors can build a mega business district in South Korea’s capital Seoul, besides buying shares and equities, and bonds. They can also set up joint ventures in technology, Research & Development, manufacturing and financial services, officials said.
The economic planners at the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency in Seoul think that the UAE’s money can create hundreds of ‘wonder projects’ in both the countries and elsewhere, using their technological prowess.
South Korea, which invests more than five per cent of the $1 trillion gross domestic product into research and development annually, is proud of technology and highly skilled human resources. They believe that UAE’s financing can help translate their hi-tech research into finished goods for the global consumers.
These views were expressed by South Korean officials unofficially at the Foreign Investment Week, held at Seoul recently. Organised by Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency, or KOTRA, the seminar attracted investors and investment advisors from around the world.
Sharing the thinking in the agency, an official said, “Abu Dhabi has an ambitious economic transformation plan aiming at creating new economic sectors to diversify its growth by 2030.”
The UAE’s investors can benefit from Korean business intelligence on Asia, and vice versa South Koreans could make use of the UAE’s influence in the MENA region.
South Korean industrial and technology-rich companies are in a position to contribute their expertise and knowledge to realise Abu Dhabi’s industrial ambitions in a big way by setting up joint venture projects in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, or Kizad.
An official of KOTRA, which was behind South Korea’s great strides of attracting $17 billion in foreign direct investments last year, told Khaleej Times, the UAE’s investors can enter into joint ventures with the thousands of South Korea’s SMEs, which have technology and expertise in different industries in their bid to expand their product base in and outside of the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea’s industrial sector is fast catching up the biggest manufacturing power house in the world that’s why it needs capital.
Already it ranks number one in ship-building with 44.4 per cent share in the world market; it’s the third in semi-conductor making with 11.2 per cent of the global share; its fourth in electronics, as in one in two of the LCDs, and one in four mobile phone sets under use in the world are manufactured there.
Capital-hungry, South Korea also wants investments to set up hi-tech industries in almost all sectors, particularly to manufacture PV solar panels, organic LEDs, apart from aluminum smelters, cables and wires, auto parts and others.
One of the most exciting areas of investment in the fast growing economy is the real estate development, where several of the UAE companies with global exposure can make money.
The South Korean economy, which was least affected by the sovereign debt crisis in the Europe and US, is also welcoming portfolio investors from the UAE to invest into its stock exchange, which is really doing well on the back of strong industrial economy. The bond market and private equity are also quite attractive for the UAE investors.
While the industrial economies in the West are threatened by the downgrades in their credit worthiness, Korea’s credit rating forecast has been upgraded.
Korea ranked 8th out of 183 countries in the World Bank’s 2011 Doing Business report, up 8 levels from last year. And, according to the recent OECD report on the restrictiveness of FDI regulations, Korea has jumped from ranking 41st out of 42 countries in 1997 to 10th in 2010. South Korea is seeking foreign investments into its high growth economic sectors of renewable energy, service industry, research and development and logistics.
Other areas in which, Asia’s third biggest economy is attracting investments include chemical and electronic material industries.
Incentives to attract foreign investors in FEZs include: corporate tax, income tax break for a period of 5-7 years (100 per cent in the first 3-5 years and then 50 per cent in the next two years); acquisition and registration tax 100 per cent for the first 15 years; property tax 100 per cent for the first 10 years, 50 per cent for the next three years; rent/lease reduction is also providing depends on the investment amount.
Among exciting investment opportunities for the UAE investors include a new business district in the heart of Seoul is being developed by a group of 30 companies. Along with several other mega infrastructure projects including the development of six economic free zones and mixed use real estate projects.
Investment is also sought for Yongsan International Business District, a project to be completed in 2016, which will comprise 67 multi-storied buildings and big civic structures including a landmark, the tallest 100-floors. The $30 billion mega project’s gross floor area is as huge as 3.46 million square metres. The mega development will include office and retail spaces, luxury apartments, hotels, and cultural facilities. It will be the world’s brightest LED skyline, as all the buildings will be covered with LED, which will light-up in evenings.
Foreign direct investment in South Korea gained 4.6 per cent last year on largely increased investment from advanced countries. South Korea attracted $13.67 billion in FDI last year, compared with $13.07 billion in 2010, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
“Foreign investment in South Korea is beginning to grow and the amount reached more than $13 billion in 2011 for the second consecutive year since 2010, while the average amount since 2000 stayed below $12 billion,” it said in a latest report.
“This appears to reflect the growing confidence of the international community in the South Korean economy.”
Direct investment from advanced countries surged 33.6 per cent on-year to about $9.69 billion with FDI from EU nations jumping 57.4 per cent and the United States 20.2 per cent.
Investment from China increased 21.6 per cent to $1.94 billion over the cited period but investment from the Middle East plunged 46.2 per cent to $92 million as investor sentiment remains low amid continued political unrest in the region.
The FDI in South Korea’s service sector gained 15.4 per cent from a year earlier to $7.27 billion while foreign investment in the country’s manufacturing industry dropped 15.1 per cent to $5.65 billion.
The ministry said FDI in 2012 will likely remain at around $13 billion. The UAE-Korea economic partnership is strengthening every passing day, as the leadership of the both nations values fostering these relations. The warm relations have also resulted in the closer cooperation in developing economic projects for mutual benefits.
Abu Dhabi’s confidence in South Korea is also reflected from the award of the $20 billion project to build 1600 megawatt Nuclear Plants deal, which has deepened the relations since then. This is not it, in the last 18-months Korea’s engineering and construction companies have snatched $25 billion worth oil and gas development projects in Abu Dhabi.
Sky is the limit for Korea’s companies in the UAE.
haseeb@khaleejtimes.com
http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
The economic planners at the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency in Seoul think that the UAE’s money can create hundreds of ‘wonder projects’ in both the countries and elsewhere, using their technological prowess.
South Korea, which invests more than five per cent of the $1 trillion gross domestic product into research and development annually, is proud of technology and highly skilled human resources. They believe that UAE’s financing can help translate their hi-tech research into finished goods for the global consumers.
These views were expressed by South Korean officials unofficially at the Foreign Investment Week, held at Seoul recently. Organised by Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency, or KOTRA, the seminar attracted investors and investment advisors from around the world.
Sharing the thinking in the agency, an official said, “Abu Dhabi has an ambitious economic transformation plan aiming at creating new economic sectors to diversify its growth by 2030.”
The UAE’s investors can benefit from Korean business intelligence on Asia, and vice versa South Koreans could make use of the UAE’s influence in the MENA region.
South Korean industrial and technology-rich companies are in a position to contribute their expertise and knowledge to realise Abu Dhabi’s industrial ambitions in a big way by setting up joint venture projects in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, or Kizad.
An official of KOTRA, which was behind South Korea’s great strides of attracting $17 billion in foreign direct investments last year, told Khaleej Times, the UAE’s investors can enter into joint ventures with the thousands of South Korea’s SMEs, which have technology and expertise in different industries in their bid to expand their product base in and outside of the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea’s industrial sector is fast catching up the biggest manufacturing power house in the world that’s why it needs capital.
Already it ranks number one in ship-building with 44.4 per cent share in the world market; it’s the third in semi-conductor making with 11.2 per cent of the global share; its fourth in electronics, as in one in two of the LCDs, and one in four mobile phone sets under use in the world are manufactured there.
Capital-hungry, South Korea also wants investments to set up hi-tech industries in almost all sectors, particularly to manufacture PV solar panels, organic LEDs, apart from aluminum smelters, cables and wires, auto parts and others.
One of the most exciting areas of investment in the fast growing economy is the real estate development, where several of the UAE companies with global exposure can make money.
The South Korean economy, which was least affected by the sovereign debt crisis in the Europe and US, is also welcoming portfolio investors from the UAE to invest into its stock exchange, which is really doing well on the back of strong industrial economy. The bond market and private equity are also quite attractive for the UAE investors.
While the industrial economies in the West are threatened by the downgrades in their credit worthiness, Korea’s credit rating forecast has been upgraded.
Korea ranked 8th out of 183 countries in the World Bank’s 2011 Doing Business report, up 8 levels from last year. And, according to the recent OECD report on the restrictiveness of FDI regulations, Korea has jumped from ranking 41st out of 42 countries in 1997 to 10th in 2010. South Korea is seeking foreign investments into its high growth economic sectors of renewable energy, service industry, research and development and logistics.
Other areas in which, Asia’s third biggest economy is attracting investments include chemical and electronic material industries.
Incentives to attract foreign investors in FEZs include: corporate tax, income tax break for a period of 5-7 years (100 per cent in the first 3-5 years and then 50 per cent in the next two years); acquisition and registration tax 100 per cent for the first 15 years; property tax 100 per cent for the first 10 years, 50 per cent for the next three years; rent/lease reduction is also providing depends on the investment amount.
Among exciting investment opportunities for the UAE investors include a new business district in the heart of Seoul is being developed by a group of 30 companies. Along with several other mega infrastructure projects including the development of six economic free zones and mixed use real estate projects.
Investment is also sought for Yongsan International Business District, a project to be completed in 2016, which will comprise 67 multi-storied buildings and big civic structures including a landmark, the tallest 100-floors. The $30 billion mega project’s gross floor area is as huge as 3.46 million square metres. The mega development will include office and retail spaces, luxury apartments, hotels, and cultural facilities. It will be the world’s brightest LED skyline, as all the buildings will be covered with LED, which will light-up in evenings.
Foreign direct investment in South Korea gained 4.6 per cent last year on largely increased investment from advanced countries. South Korea attracted $13.67 billion in FDI last year, compared with $13.07 billion in 2010, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
“Foreign investment in South Korea is beginning to grow and the amount reached more than $13 billion in 2011 for the second consecutive year since 2010, while the average amount since 2000 stayed below $12 billion,” it said in a latest report.
“This appears to reflect the growing confidence of the international community in the South Korean economy.”
Direct investment from advanced countries surged 33.6 per cent on-year to about $9.69 billion with FDI from EU nations jumping 57.4 per cent and the United States 20.2 per cent.
Investment from China increased 21.6 per cent to $1.94 billion over the cited period but investment from the Middle East plunged 46.2 per cent to $92 million as investor sentiment remains low amid continued political unrest in the region.
The FDI in South Korea’s service sector gained 15.4 per cent from a year earlier to $7.27 billion while foreign investment in the country’s manufacturing industry dropped 15.1 per cent to $5.65 billion.
The ministry said FDI in 2012 will likely remain at around $13 billion. The UAE-Korea economic partnership is strengthening every passing day, as the leadership of the both nations values fostering these relations. The warm relations have also resulted in the closer cooperation in developing economic projects for mutual benefits.
Abu Dhabi’s confidence in South Korea is also reflected from the award of the $20 billion project to build 1600 megawatt Nuclear Plants deal, which has deepened the relations since then. This is not it, in the last 18-months Korea’s engineering and construction companies have snatched $25 billion worth oil and gas development projects in Abu Dhabi.
Sky is the limit for Korea’s companies in the UAE.
haseeb@khaleejtimes.com
http://tourism9.com/ http://vkins.com/
2012年1月3日星期二
New Payday Advance Loans Survey Announced By USAPaydayForever.com
While European Stock Markets Go Up A Little Bit, USAPaydayForever.com Announces Payday Advance Loans Survey. They Want To Measure New Customer Experience
(PRWEB) January 03, 2012
Recently at Yahoo news, a financial article explained that while many stock exchanges are closed, some European exchanges had risen lightly. This article stated, “Germany’s DAX, which fell 14.7 percent last year, rose 1.4 percent Monday to 5981.79, while the French CAC-40, which ended 2011 17 percent lower, climbed 0.6 percent to 3,179.17. Stocks fell in South Korea and closed flat in Taiwan.” USAPaydayForever.com thought that this might not necessarily indicate better things to come for world economies. They mentioned that they would continue their payday advance loans promotional campaign this year. They said they would start the year off with a survey, especially considering their recent report of a record number of applications last year.
USAPaydayForever.com continued to express they felt it to be necessary to continue with their payday advance loans promotional campaign this year, regardless of any recent positive news. This is their reasoning for putting out a payday advance loans survey. Such a survey would be used to determine not only customer satisfaction. It would also be used to figure out why people are getting payday advance loans, and how they use them.
Concerning the news about Europeans stocks, as well as their new survey, USAPaydayForever.com has released a statement. This statement said, “We feel it’s important to find out how our customers feel about our payday advance loans. Not only that, but we think it’s important to find out their reasons for using our services, and how they use them. This is especially true whenever we hear reports of positive economic news anywhere in the world. We want to know what kinds of things our customers use our payday advance loans for, if they are using them properly, and how they view them in general.”
About USAPaydayForever.com – USAPaydayForever.com is an online company that helps consumers to find and obtain payday advance loans online. For more information about USAPaydayForever.com, visit their website at http://www.usapaydayforever.com
###
Lehi Drew
http://articlesearchenginemarketing.com/
435-714-0482
Email Information
http://tourism9.com/
(PRWEB) January 03, 2012
Recently at Yahoo news, a financial article explained that while many stock exchanges are closed, some European exchanges had risen lightly. This article stated, “Germany’s DAX, which fell 14.7 percent last year, rose 1.4 percent Monday to 5981.79, while the French CAC-40, which ended 2011 17 percent lower, climbed 0.6 percent to 3,179.17. Stocks fell in South Korea and closed flat in Taiwan.” USAPaydayForever.com thought that this might not necessarily indicate better things to come for world economies. They mentioned that they would continue their payday advance loans promotional campaign this year. They said they would start the year off with a survey, especially considering their recent report of a record number of applications last year.
USAPaydayForever.com continued to express they felt it to be necessary to continue with their payday advance loans promotional campaign this year, regardless of any recent positive news. This is their reasoning for putting out a payday advance loans survey. Such a survey would be used to determine not only customer satisfaction. It would also be used to figure out why people are getting payday advance loans, and how they use them.
Concerning the news about Europeans stocks, as well as their new survey, USAPaydayForever.com has released a statement. This statement said, “We feel it’s important to find out how our customers feel about our payday advance loans. Not only that, but we think it’s important to find out their reasons for using our services, and how they use them. This is especially true whenever we hear reports of positive economic news anywhere in the world. We want to know what kinds of things our customers use our payday advance loans for, if they are using them properly, and how they view them in general.”
About USAPaydayForever.com – USAPaydayForever.com is an online company that helps consumers to find and obtain payday advance loans online. For more information about USAPaydayForever.com, visit their website at http://www.usapaydayforever.com
###
Lehi Drew
http://articlesearchenginemarketing.com/
435-714-0482
Email Information
http://tourism9.com/
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