MANILA -The Philippines is expected to benefit from South Korean firms looking to diversify investments after cutting down their reliance on the Chinese market, according to the East Asian country’s government-funded economic research institute.
Nam Seok Kim, an associate research fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), said there was a “major effort” from Korean firms eyeing Southeast Asian countries for new investment destinations.
He said the government was also pushing for an initiative supporting this, citing the Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Solidarity Initiative (Kasi) announced last year during the regional bloc’s summit in Cambodia.
“It expanded the economic cooperation projects between Asean and South Korea in the sense that South Korea has very much diversified its economic relations, which was originally very centered with China,” Kim told reporters during a press tour organized by the Korean Culture and Information Services last Sept. 18 to Sept. 22.
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Kim said he was “pretty optimistic” more Korean firms would be investing in the Philippines following the recent signing of a free trade agreement (FTA).
“I think there is already a good logistics system in Manila which specializes in the trade between the Philippines and South Korea,” he said.
To recall, the FTA between the Philippines and South Korea was signed last September, focusing mainly on trade in goods and economic cooperation.
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Kim noted there was still an untapped potential for partnerships in the mining sector, particularly in critical minerals, such as nickel and chrome.
“The Philippines has many critical raw minerals. But excavation projects are still in the beginning (stages),” he said.
“When the infrastructure around those critical raw mineral reserves in the Philippines are ready, I think the situation will become very different,” he added.
He also noted Korean investors were attracted to the country’s democratic system that values transparency and Filipinos’ proficiency in the English language.