Foreign-invested companies in Korea posted a 23% increase in combined sales in 2008, a government report showed yesterday.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy report, which focused on 2,300 companies with investments exceeding $500,000, showed combined sales reaching KRW 233 trillion ($205.7 billion) in 2008, which was 13.1% of the national total, and up from KRW 189 trillion in 2007.
Importantly, 87.8% of companies surveyed stated that their ventures in Korea, on average, performed better than similar investments made in other Asian countries.
Contribution of Foreign-invested companies in Korea (2008)
Other highlights from the report included -
- Labor productivity – measured by per capita value-added output – reached KRW 113.2 million for foreign companies, contrasted with just KRW 66 million for local firms.
- Employees at foreign invested companies accounted for 5.9 percent of the country’s workforce, reaching 318,000 workers in 2008, up from 282,000 the previous year.
- 59.1% of the firms’ investments were aimed at the local market and consumers.
- Foreign-invested companies brought in the bulk (60.2%) of the raw materials and components from abroad for manufacturing and reprocessing in the country.
However, according to the report, total exports by foreign-invested companies dipped to $52.3 billion (down from $54.3 billion the previous year), which accounted for about 12% of Korea’s total exports.
Under Korea’s corporate guidelines, a foreign-invested firm refers to a company in which overseas investors own more than 10 percent of the business. In 2008 there were about 16,000 foreign-invested companies in the country.
See here for the full JoongAng Daily article.
(Source: JoongAng Daily)
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