Seoul Buffoon

Interview: Mr. Robert McKellar, CEO- Asia Pacific, Savills Asia Pacific Ltd.

2012-02-24T11:53:00.001+09:00

The Savills Group, established in 1855, advises on allmatters of commercial, residential and leisure properties. It provides a comprehensive range of advisory and professional property services to developers, owners, tenants and investors alike. These include consultancy services, facilities management, space planning, corporate real estate services, property management, leasing, valuation and sales in all key segments of commercial, residential, industrial, retail, investment and hotel property. The company which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, has an international network of more than 200 offices and associates throughout the Americas, the UK, continental Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, offering a broad range of specialist advisory, management and transactional services to clients all over the world. In Asia Pacific, it has over 44 regional offices comprising 20,000 staff. This regional market includes Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, with associate offices in Malaysia, Indonesia and New Zealand. As noted by Mr. Robert McKellar, Chief Executive Officer- Asia Pacific, Savills Asia Pacific Ltd., the company offers a unique combination of sector knowledge and entrepreneurial flair, giving clients access to real estate expertise of the highest caliber. “We choose to focus on a defined set of clients, offering a premium service to organizations and individuals with whom we share a common goal. Last year our revenue was approximately $500 million. We sold $9.2 billion worth of real estate in 2011, guided over 21000 valuations for $320 billion,managed over 111 million sq. m. of real estate property and leased over 2.4 million sq. m. for commercial, industrial and retail,” he noted Savills is synonymous with a high quality service offering and a premium brand, taking a long term view of real estate and investing in strategic relationships, he said. Mr. McKellar was appointed CEO, in March 2005 and is responsible for overseeing Savills’ regional operations across the Asia Pacific region. He relocated to Seoul in July 2009 to be able to focus more on North East Asia, while continuing to oversee the company’s operations across the region. At the same time, Savills increased its management team in the region, and delegated responsibilities for businesses in China and South East Asia to several core individuals reporting to him. Mr. McKellar joined the group in December 1988 as Financial Controller and then Managing and Financial Director for Savills Commercial Ltd., before being appointed Finance Director for Savills Plc in July 2000. Prior to working for Savills he worked for BP Minerals Ltd. and Babcock Power in London,and British Steel Corporation in Scotland. “There are several reasons why I chose to relocate to Seoul, as Asia Pacific CEO. Logistically, it is easier to travel to Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore. Our focus is North East Asia and it made sense to be based in part of the region. I see no reason why regional CEOs should be based in Singapore and Hong Kong all the time. Moreover, I travel all the time anyway, so I could be anywhere,” he said. He also noted that Korea is the third largest economy in Asia and is still a very big and attractive real estate market. “I think it is good for any CEO in Asia Pacific to spend time in Seoul. Because, then you begin to understand the market here and it is a good experience. Spending time in a market like Korea should be an opportunity anyone would welcome. We know it is much more difficult here than Hong Kong and Singapore. We all know it, but that adds to the value. Other reason is that Korean are big investors overseas, so why not spend time here and talk to the institutional investors.” This, despite the fact that Korea is not the biggest market for Savills. Looking at its split in terms of profile, the company is very heavily geared towards Hong Kong, China, Macau and Taiwan which account for 75 percent of its business in Asia Pacific. Other big markets are Singapore and Australia. “Korea and Japan are smaller. They are more mature, and more difficult to do business in. The emerging markets like China and Vietnam are easier for us to get a position there. More mature markets like Korea and Japan are difficult because of historical barriers to entry. Having said that, I must add that the opportunities in Korea are tempting.” In Korea, Savills has around 140 staff doing property management, investment sales, leasing, valuation, project management and closed asset property management. “Performance in 2011 was OK, it wasn’t great. We were profitable last year, the same as 2010 and the global economic slump did not really affect us because property management, asset management are consistent businesses. As regards investment sales, we roughly did two last year and two the year before. Leasing was quite good, but generally speaking it was OK...much the same as 2010.” “This year the company has got a few deals, a few investment transactions it is working on, and hope to transact soon. In fact last year would have been much better, if they had managed to complete one or two deals that slipped into 2012.” “We also reduced our costs. This year will be better, although not as good as Hong Kong or Singapore, but certainly better than 2011.” Speaking on the advantages that Savills enjoys vis-a-vis local competitors, he noted that being international players they can bring in international clients into the market and also can take the Korean clients overseas. Many Korean institutional investors are investing in London, since it is a very attractive capital market for overseas investors, and Savills can offer the ability to acquire real estate in Europe and other overseas markets. One of its strengths is internationalization, compared to local competitors. “We have some systems and applications and procedures which are international that help us to manage real estate in places like Korea and offer overseas sales that local players cannot offer.” For that matter, Savills is one of the advisors to the biggest institutional players in Korea, the National Pension Service, which has over $300 billion in assets. NPS aims to boost overseas investments to about 20 percent of its assets by 2016, up from 12.9 percent. “We are lucky to be able to advise some of the large institutions in Korea. Increasingly, we are seeing that capital flows are going from east to west...not just the Koreans, but the Chinese and Singaporeans too. This will continue to happen. Especially in big cities like London.” As regards the opportunities for investment arising from the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, McKellar noted that a lot of assets are going cheap. “However, most of the overseas investors tend to want to go to London as the prime focus since it is a liquid market, and a very big institutional market. Other markets in Europe tend to be less attractive. Even the other European investors are buying real estate in London because of the problems they perceive in the eurozone. There will be opportunities in eurozone if you are brave.” “While places like France and Germany continue to be attractive, most investors are focusing on London and the Scandinavian countries where there is less volatility. Europe will come back. The great thing about real estate is that it goes in cycles. The key is buying it near the bottom of the cycle. It’s all about timing,” he said. He picked as for the potential markets that will do well this year, besides London, “Australia is another market which has tremendous opportunity. It is a very transparent market, and the economy is strong with net immigration. In terms of risk, Indonesia may be stable, but real estate investments in Jakarta will give very good returns. Hong Kong and Singapore on the other hand continue to be volatile.” “I would consider Korea to deliver high returns, as long as you can access the product. Unfortunately, the real estate market is tightly held by the conglomerates. Many German funds want to come here, but are unable to proceed further.” In terms of product mix, he noted that despite global economic conditions, Asia Pacific’s retail sector will continue to grow off the back of continued consumer demand. “The retail fundamentals remain solid in the region, with sustained consumer spending in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. China has been the most significant growth driver for 2011 which has consequently led to higher retail rents in Chinese cities.” He also noted that the Asian market has become a prime target and pertinent region for retailers resulting in an increase in investment sales and retail constructions. This will continue, especially as new opportunities arise in countries like Vietnam and India. Referring to the challenges that a company like Savills faces in the Asia Pacific region, Mr. McKellar said that being a listed company, there are many compliance constraints which the local competitors, especially in China take advantage of. “The Asian way of doing business strongly relies on relationships, whereas the western model is different. Having to adjust to this is quite a challenge. Moreover, regulations in Asia tend to change very quickly and are unpredictable.” “We however still consider the region to be an exciting place to do business. We are expanding this year, to move into Malaysia, Indonesia and New Zealand. We are also keen on India, especially the retail sector.”

Interview: Mr. Kwon Hyouk-se, Governor, Financial Supervisory Service

2012-01-20T10:23:00.001+09:00

The Financial Supervisory Service was established on January 2, 1999, under the Act on the Establishment of Financial Supervisory Organizations by bringing together four supervisory bodies-Banking Supervisory Authority, Securities Supervisory Board, Insurance Supervisory Board, and Non-bank Supervisory Authority-into a single supervisory organization. The primary function of the FSS is examination and supervision of financial institutions but can extend to other oversight and enforcement functions as charged by the Financial Services Commission (the former Financial Supervisory Commission) and the Securities and Futures Commission. In an exclusive interview, Mr. Kwon Hyouk-se, Governor, FSS, speaks about his priorities, touching on many topics that are in the news.

Uncertainties in the global financial market continue due to the eurozone financial crisis. Can you briefly evaluate the Korean economy and financial market? The uncertainty emanating from the euro-zone debt crisis clearly has had a broadly dampening effect on global market outlook. To date, however, the overall extent of the impact of the debt crisis on the Korean economy and financial markets appears not as grave as initially feared. Korea’s exports continue to grow at a fairly steady pace, and the general expectation is that the economy will maintain growth momentum with improving employment and trade surplus. Looking ahead, a continued slowdown in the developed countries will likely mean slower export growth. Korea’s exports, however, are less dependent on these markets than in the past, so the overall growth trajectory should remain intact. In the financial markets, stock prices and exchange rates did fluctuate more than usual as was the case in other markets, but they are now settling down to more normal levels. I would also stress that the overall soundness indicators of financial institutions remain firm. Speaking more broadly, the declining proportion of short-term external borrowings in the banking sector and the sizable foreign currency reserve, currently in excess of USD300 billion, should leave no doubt about the strength of our foreign currency liquidity conditions. The introduction of hedges funds is seen by many as an innovative development if the Korean financial markets and acknowledge their economic utility, however detractors have also pointed out their risks. What are the measures to be implemented in order to minimize their potential side effect? Do you have plans to improve laws and regulations for the stable growth of the industry? Regulators imposed a 400% cap on leverage and derivatives trading of hedge funds against their assets as a way to minimize potential side effect. There are other similar checks and safeguards on hedge fund risk exposure, counter-party risk, and liquidity risk. Unlike global hedge funds, local hedge funds will start out as regulated entities. As the new funds take hold in the local investment market and become more established, there will be opportunities to take stock of where the market stands and whether more accommodating regulations are warranted. Most financial institutions in Korea have active Corporate Social Responsibility programs as they know they owe society and Korea a debt of gratitude. Do you think enough is being done? The spread of the anti-Wall Street protests in the U.S. and elsewhere is one manifestation of the general public’s desire for greater accountability and more socially responsible business conduct from the financial industry. In Korea, we do see financial institutions reducing their service fees and giving more to public causes to do their part as responsible corporate citizens. The general reception from ordinary citizens, however, seems be that the financial industry can and should do more, especially in doing away with arbitrary or heavy-handed industry-wide customs and practices that harm consumers. Less credit bias against the socially disadvantaged and low-income borrowers would also help. Since you took office, you have continuously emphasized the need for prudential supervision and financial consumer protection. Why? In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, financial consumer protection has emerged as a major policy priority worldwide. We see this in the common principles on consumer protection in the field of financial services that the OECD developed for all financial service sectors. As I alluded to earlier, the anti-Wall Street protests is just one of the growing calls on many fronts for better, more proportionate checks and balances on financial institutions for consumer protection as well. What financial institutions can draw from these developments is that consumer protection matters, matters enormously and that they should engage in an earnest effort to integrate consumer protection into their overall risk management from a long-term strategic perspective. Can you give us an evaluation of the progress made for financial consumer protection? What are the future directions? Because several mutual savings banks were on the verge of collapse when I took office, my early priority was to restore the public’s trust in financial institutions and to reinforce consumer protection. This led to the revamping of our organizational structure and the realignment of our supervision and enforcement focus to consumer protection so that we can better deal with anti-consumer practices. We have also expanded programs to improve consumer finance literacy and education. This year, we are going to take an aggressive stance on consumer protection as a key objective and commit ourselves to implementing the OECD principles on financial consumer protection. Under the KorEU FTA, both parties are expected to allow offshore data processing within 2 years from 1.7.2011 and additionally the FTA also calls for increased flexibility in allowing delegation of more back office function to onshore affiliates and offshore affiliates. The latter will require a change in business delegation regulations and licensing guidelines. What is the FSS’ position on this? The free trade agreements with the EU and the U.S. provide for offshore data processing for foreign financial institutions with some restrictions. For instance, restrictions may apply for certain types of customer data such as sensitive personal data in need of special care and protection and data deemed necessary for supervision purposes. It was also agreed that the implementation of offshore data processing would be suspended for two years when the agreements take effect to give time for fine-tuning of the supervisory processes and additional safeguards needed for handling of private information and preventing data breach. Following the ratification of the Korea-EU FTA by the National Assembly in July 2011, a task force comprising representatives from the Financial Services Commission and legal consultants has been working on a detailed implementation plan. The expectation is that the level of financial data to be allowed for offshore processing would be determined with an extensive review of private information protection policies at home and elsewhere and case studies of financial data protection and offshore data processing facilities in other jurisdictions. The FSS has recently urged banks to restrict the dividend pay-out ratio in order to further strengthen capital basis. In the cases of foreign banks (branches and subsidiaries) with only one shareholder, shouldn’t the FSS allow a little more flexibility in dividend pay-outs considering that the parent companies stand ready to inject capital as and when needed? The FSS is not contemplating any blank restriction on bank dividend pay-out practices, domestic or foreign. But there should be no argument about unjustifiably outsized dividend pay-outs that undermine the essential capacity to absorb losses or threaten the long-term capital soundness. Asset soundness and financial market conditions may deteriorate unexpectedly, and U.S. and European bank regulators nowadays keep a close eye on bank dividend plans and capital levels under various stress scenarios. This is a prudent step, and it makes sense for banks to set aside more when they can to strengthen their capital positions. In 2011, Korea’s financial market and FSS were marked by many big or small events. Can you tell us what was the most rewarding and memorable work progress this year? Regulators sought to keep financial markets calm and orderly by expediting resolution of the insolvent mutual savings banks and taking timely measures aimed at household debt growth and potential spillover effects from the euro-zone debt crisis. With regards to consumer protection, we significantly increased our supervisory resources and beefed up our internal oversight structures to better focus on such consumer priorities as more rational service fee structures. We also targeted small-cap share price manipulation (the so-called “theme-driven share trading), insurance fraud, loan fraud, and voice phishing as the four key consumer protection priority and reinforced our prevention efforts. In a move broadly aimed at revitalizing organizational culture and capability, we also carried out a large-scale personnel shuffling, brought about a clearer division between supervision and examination responsibilities, and sought to expand assistance to various disadvantaged groups. Briefly could you explain to us the supervisory policy and examination directions for 2012? The priority will be on safeguarding financial markets from disruptions that may be triggered by the euro-zone debt crisis. To this end, the FSS intends to step up monitoring of capital flows and encourage domestic banks to secure more foreign currency liquidity as an additional buffer against external risks. In addition, we are going to keep a close watch on the credit conditions of small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as industries especially vulnerable in a downward economic cycle such as construction, shipbuilding, and shipping. Our supervision of household debt growth will also continue in 2012. With more low-income households expected to come under financial pressure in 2012, we will continue to take strong supervision and enforcement actions against abusive business practices and conduct by financial firms. This will include more vigorous monitoring and supervision of private money lenders and consumer credit providers that prey on low-income borrowers. In terms of examination, we will be looking to improve the professional competence and efficacy of our safety and soundness examination. This means applying examination resources and intensity proportionate to the size of financial institutions. We will also intensify the scrutiny on abusive practices that harm consumers and small businesses. Financial firms will also be held to account for non-arm’s length transactions with large shareholders.

Interview: Mr. Bahk Jae-wan, Minister of Strategy and Finance

2012-01-19T11:21:00.001+09:00

The Korean government, in its announcement of the official economic policy directions for 2012, has projected that the Korean economy grew by 3.8 percent in 2011 and will have a slightly lower 3.7 percent growth for 2012. The nation’s consumer inflation will drop to 3.2 percent, trade will see $16 billion in surplus, and jobs will expand by 280,000, the government further predicted. In order to act preemptively against external threats caused by a slowing global economy, the Korean government will be allowing early access to the budget for the first half next year and boosting the domestic market to stimulate the economy. Meanwhile, Europe’s debt problem and slowing global recovery are expected to hold back Korea’s export and import growth from last years 19.2 percent and 23.2 percent to 7.4 percent and 8.4 percent, each. Though growth in exports tapers off, private consumption will fill in the slack by rising from 2.5 percent last year to 3.1 percent this year. In early December 2011, Minister of Strategy and Finance, Mr. Bahk Jae-wan, announced that the government will focus on boosting the economy and stabilizing people’s livelihoods this year in order to build a ground for ‘eco-systemic development’ or shared growth. However following the the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the government has now changed its economic policy priority for 2012 to risk management and discovering new growth engines from job creation. MOSF cited the euro-zone debt crisis, and the geopolitical risks of the Korean peninsula and the Middle East crisis as the three largest risk factors that will threaten the Korean economy this year. Korea’s contingency plan initially included the euro-zone debt crisis only, but North Korea and the Middle East were added in the list. Foreign investors are all aware of the risks and are confident that the Korean government will put in place suitable policies to minimize the fallout. They believe that despite the risks, domestic businesses can turn the current difficulty into an opportunity. In the end, relative to its neighbors, Korea was able to benefit from the Asian crisis in 1997 and 1998. It is sure to happen this time too. In an interview, Minister Bahk outlines the government’s strategies for this year.

What are the risk factors to the Korean economy this year? And what are the government priorities and plans to manage them? I do believe that there are many risk factors for the year 2012. I believe that the issue closest to the EUCCK would be the European financial crisis. Secondly, Korea has a high reliance on international markets, especially the import of raw materials. Therefore the developments of the Iranian situation and its impact on the international crude oil prices will impact Korea. Internally, in Korea, for the first time in 20 years we have the presidential elections and the general elections being held at the same time. Just like the eurozone decision, we may find that it is very difficult to make timely decisions. Decision making may be delayed, which will create more risk factors. Concerning the European financial crisis, as you are well aware the maturity for the Italian sovereign bond is between February and April and until June many EU banks will be securing their core capital rates which may lead to de-leveraging, which may impact trade finance for Korean companies, leading to instability. However, as you are aware, within the European zone there is to be the EU summit in the end of January. And at the end of February we will expect to be holding the G20 financial ministers meeting. There is also the agreement between the heads of Germany and France. As the crisis escalates, we look forward to a faster decision making process. And therefore our expectation is that we will be able to find the key to the solutions within the first quarter of this year. We do believe that we are considering the possibility of the impact of the European financial crisis on the Korean financial market. We have contingency plans in place and we are responding according to our plans. For example, there was the issuance of bonds by EXIM bank of $2.5 billion and there was a booking of over $9 billion. We do believe that our foreign reserves is adequate and we also have various plans for worst case scenarios. Concerning the developments of the Iranian situation. I don’t believe it is within our control. However we are coming up with various measures to mitigate the impact of the development . The reminder of the issues are diplomatic issues and I am not in a position to reveal the details. Concerning the two major elections to be held this year, unlike the EU, we do not have a system centered around the parliament. And it is centered around the president. Therefore the traditional bureaucracy within our government bodies including the ministry of finance are quite patriotic in our work, and traditionally we believe that these patriotic status of our bureaucrats impact the decision making of the state and therefore I do not think there is too much to worry about the contingencies following the 2 elections. As we rely on our mature media in Korea and our opinion leaders in Korea we will make sure that we keep a balance against populism. And difficulties in decision making as well as confusion in government policies. I have very optimistic views for this year. Over the last couple of years, the foreign exchange rate has been very volatile. Is the government planning to implement measures for making them more stable? The volatility of the exchange rate has been there since 2008, and it now reducing. It was 0.94 in 2008 which reduced to 0.48 percent last year. This is better than the European figures of 0.57 percent. As you are well aware the later half of last year saw a high degree of volatility in international markets and I do believe that in Korea it was relatively stable. Today I saw that there was a trend of depreciation in the morning but we do believe that any extreme change in any one direction is not ideal, therefore ewe will work to mitigate the volatility of our exchange rates What the government is considering is that our foreign exchange market is quite small at the moment and so we will work on adding depth and width to our market. As for capital market we will provide incentives to encourage long term investments we will continue to enhance the size of our capital market so that it will be able to absorb any shocks in the future. Concerning the inflow and outflow of capital, we believe that any rapid change is not ideal and we are therefore looking at ways to mitigate....so that is why we we have come up with three regulations for foreign currency. We will continue to analyze the pluses and minuses of these regulations and work on any improvement as necessary. As for the bond market, many of the central banks outside Korea, are well interested in the Korean market. And they believe that the forecast is positive. so we will continue to collaborate closely with some central banks of other countries. And we will also continue to work to make sure that there is a virtuous cycle to reduce the volatilities. The biggest burden on household finances this year is expected to be the rising costs of living. What are the government's countermeasures to tackle inflation issues? First of all, I believe that the role that the government can play in controlling inflation is quite limited and the efforts should be made in a market friendly manner. Compared to advanced nations the cost of living in Korea is not high but the increase is relatively high. We believe that the rate of increase is around 1 percentage point higher than other advanced nations we do have indepth analysis concerning the reason for such rapid increase and we believe it is the hindering of competition, the insufficient opening of information and the possible bubble that this creates in the market may contribute to the increases. The attitude of the consumers themselves is also contributing to such increases. Ostentatious display has also also led to bubble. There are also many different reasons . The reason that the government cannot control is the worsening of the climate conditions which leads to changes in raw material cost. However, the reason that we can deal with such as structural reasons, the sentiments of consumers, disclosure of information or encouraging of competition..these are the issues that the government will work on from the mid to long term, there are many micro aspects to the measures that we will be working.

Interview: Mr. Kwon Do-youp, Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs

2012-01-12T11:42:00.002+09:00

In May 2011, Mr. Kwon Do-youp was appointed as the Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM), prior to which, he was first vice minister in the ministry. The First form of MLTM, named as Mnistry of Transportation, was organized at the time of the establishment of the Korean government on August 15, 1948. Since then the Ministry has been renamed as Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Construction and Transportation and finally was recreated by the Government’s reorganization through merging with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in 2008. Minister Kwon is an expert official on housing affairs who took the head-post of Housing Division and acted as Director General for Housing Affairs in Ministry of Construction and Transport (MCT). He has shown both professionalism and driving force in handling land and housing affairs, and that he is judged the right man to upgrade housing environments through stable supplies of houses and to find new solutions to the various housing problems particularly for low-income people. He started civil service, assuming an officer post in deliberation of New Town Development in the Ministry of Construction (MC), and held several key posts including Land Policy Div. Director General (DG), Housing Div. DG and Public Relation Division DG and assistant VM in MCT. And he finally made the first VM in MLTM. Starting his civil service in construction sector, he is deemed to have acquired deep experiences with transport as president of Korea Expressway Corp., state-run, before he was appointed the first VM of MLTM. As a major in civil engineering and public administration, he is highly praised as a leader of consilience versed in engineering and civil service. Following the earlier merger of other ministries with MLTM, he has done his excellent job as the first VM, so he was deemed as the right man to smoothly address the various pending issues including Four River Development Project, real estates and the move of civil service offices to Sejong City (starting this year). He has been displaying his best ability in sorting out MLTM’s most pressing problems of house shortage and of jumping house rental deposit on the strength of his diverse experiences of 30 years since 1979 in the fields of construction and transport. In an exclusive interview, Minister Kwon speak on his priorities and policy plans.

Could you please tell us your vision and policy directions for the future? Land and ocean have been the foundation for Korea's economic development, but in the future it needs to play a bigger role by being a quality place where a new culture can be created. For this reason, the following three qualities--the quality of land, the quality of its inhabitants, and the quality of the institutions on which the citizens and land are based--need to be harmonized. Going forward, in order to increase the competitiveness of the nation's land and ocean through region-specific development strategies, the following efforts will be made: ● Infrastructure such as road, railway, housing, water resources, and aviation, will be made more effective through expansion and rigorous maintenance, improving the landscape of the nation ● Also, new growth engines in the maritime sector will be cultivated through maritime tour promotion and marine resources development; while, ● Regulations pertinent to land will be streamlined to suit the convenience of the public, providing a more scenic and beautiful land environment to the public. Despite the recent cargo volume increases, the maritime industry is seeing revenue decreases; what are the government's measures to analyze the reasons for this and overcome this problem? The global maritime industry started experiencing a downturn from the second half of 2010 and this continued to 2011, reducing maritime fares. For instance, the BDI (Baltic Dry Index) on Nov. 3 was 1,817p, which is 42% of the five-year average; HRCI (Howe Robinson Container Index) on Nov. 2 was 556p, which is 64% of the five-year average. The cargo volumes, such as dry cargoes and containers, all increased but, the vessels are being oversupplied compared to the cargo volume, causing profitability erosion of maritime companies. The soon-to-be-delivered vessels account for 31%, in the case of container vessels and 41% in the case of dry cargo vessels, of the current number of vessels, respectively. The rapid oil price increase (36% increased year-on-year as of June, 2011) is eroding the profitability of companies by increasing their costs, as the fuel cost takes up 15-20% of the total costs for maritime companies. Due to the advanced countries' economic uncertainty stemming from the sovereign debt crisis of the US and Europe, the cargo volume increase is expected to slow down markedly going forward. As it seems difficult to overcome the maritime industry's economic woes in the short term, focusing on internal growth instead of external expansion should be more emphasized. First, industry-wide efforts, such as replacing old vessels, changing docks to benefit from lower fee offers, are essential; while, the government will closely consult with relevant agencies and review measures that can strengthen the foundation of the nation's vessel financing, such as expanding the guarantee scope of the vessel financing and extending operation of the KAMCO vessel funds. As of late October, 2011, 430 billion won of loan guarantees have been made to maritime companies. Restructuring Funds, which are the main funding resources for the KAMCO fund, will be maintained till the end of 2011 before being withdrawn. How is the Four Rivers Restoration Project progressing? In Korea, 70% of annual rainfall is concentrated in summer. As it causes frequent flood and drought, the government spends 3~4 trillion won every year for the recovery from flooding damages. Recent climate change is expected to cause more frequent flood and drought. In addition, investment in rivers is urgently needed as high level of economic development raised awareness about the importance of rivers and demand for using rivers and water-front areas. In the past, riverfront areas were used for farming or neglected. Pollutants accumulated downstream in waterfront farmlands and insufficient fresh water during dry seasons undermined river ecosystem. In order to prevent large-scale natural disasters occurred by climate change and improve the soundness and diversity of ecosystem by securing clean and sufficient water resources, Korea carried out the four major rivers restoration project. Neglected water-front areas turned into bicycle lanes and ecology parks where people enjoy cultural and leisure activities. The four major rivers restoration project that was initiated in 2009 is now 92% completed, and the main stream project is 92% completed. Especially, the main stream project will be completed on schedule by the end of this year. During implementation of the project, there was massive criticism from environmental groups about river dredging, etc. However, as the project is bringing fruitful outcome by securing abundant water resources and building bike paths and water-front parks, many citizens now support the project. In particular, although this summer recorded an unprecedented rainfall during the rainy season, there was no serious damage in the four rivers compared to the past. The Korean government's efforts of restoring the four major rivers, responding to climate change and improving ecosystem, will be a good example to Europe. The 1,592km-long bicycle path along the four rivers is the largest and the most beautiful lane in the world and is attracting many tourists who enjoy and give a positive response to the path. What is the reason for last year's yearly housing lease fees and what is the MLTM's plan to stabilize the housing market? The increase in Jeonse prices was mainly resulted from the imbalance between demand and supply of housing for Jeonse and monthly rent. The global financial crisis in 2008 reduced housing supply was reduced since the housing construction market significantly shrank and raised controversy whether or not to abolish the housing-price-capsystem. * Annual authorization and permission for housing construction - (’05) 46.4→(’06) 47.0→(’07) 55.6→(’08) 37.1→(’09) 38.2→(’10) 38.7 Also, stabilized housing price and the increase in redevelopment·housing reconstruction and people's migration increased demand for Jeonse rather than housing sale·purchase. The Korean government will make continuous efforts to stabilize citizens' residence and housing prices. Considering the shortage of housing quantity and quality, it will supply around 400 thousand houses every year as Korea falls short of housing quantity and quality. In addition, the government is trying to diversify housing types and ease regulation in response to changes in demography and family structure due to increasing single and two-person families, low birth rate and aging population, and changes in housing market structure including increased demand for housing for monthly rent. * single, two-person family (%) : (‘90) 22.8 →(’00) 34.6→(’10) 48.1→ (’20) 57.7 * household of aged family members(%) : (‘90) 8.5→(’00) 12.1→(’10) 17.9 →(’20) 22.7 It will also develop and implement a housing policy fit for generation and social class to supply customized housing for new university graduates, middle aged and elderly people, etc. What is the role of the MLTM in carrying out the Korean government's green growth strategies? MLTM is carrying out an important mission of taking care of land, city, housing, transportation, and maritime affairs essential to life of all citizens, and is therefore in a crucial position to lead the way for greenhouse gas reduction and green growth in Korea. Thus, MLTM is pursuing a green growth policy based on the vision of "Creating Low Carbon Green Land and Ocean." At the same time, MLTM is contributing to the alleviation of climate change damages by reducing greenhouse gases, carrying out projects aimed at increasing the adaptation level against climate change, cultivating new economic growth engines such as green technologies and industries, and providing assistance to under-developed countries in the green technology field. First, in the greenhouse gas reduction category, Buildings and transportation, which take up approx. 42% of Korea's greenhouse gas emissions, are being transformed through diverse projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as revision of regulations, demand volume management, and subsidies; in particular, the President's pledge to "reduce 30% of Korea's greenhouse gases compared to BAU by 2020" is being on track to be accomplished as the government set a goal of reducing 26.9% and 34.3% of greenhouse gases in buildings and transportation sectors, respectively, implementing relevant measures. Second, in the climate change adaptation category, for the purpose of reducing damages from extreme weather conditions like floods and droughts, the Four Rivers, stream maintenance, dam construction, and sea water desalination projects are being implemented, while other programs such as maritime observation network establishment, coastal region vulnerability assessment and maintenance are underway. Lastly, in order to create new growth engines based on green technologies MLTM is focusing its efforts on securing maritime energy using solar, tidal, algae, and wave power, cultivating renewable energy like maritime bio diesel, developing various architecture technologies for saving energy, and maintaining an IT-based efficient energy management system. MLTM will do its utmost to minimize life and property damage from natural disasters caused by abnormal weather conditions by making constant development of technologies and seeking global cooperation; in particular, it will actively contribute to increasing the quality of life for all humanity on earth by carrying out its green technology support projects. Any additional comments to the European FDI companies in Korea? The Korean government is developing high potential, investment-worthy future growth centers, such as Sejong City, Innovation City, Enterprise City, Saemangeum, six Free Economic Zones and Jeju Free International City. These centers will emerge as the country's economic growth drivers; investment made in the cities will bring about benefits not just to the concerned cities themselves but also to the investment companies. The government is striving to create a conducive environment for FDI companies for their investment and business activities, by providing tax benefits, subsidies, and lease fee reductions. It is hoped that these projects will draw more attention in the years ahead *************** Current FDI company assistance system overview - Cash assistance: if 20 or more staff are hired, education and training subsidies and employment subsidies are provided - Lease fee reduction: when leasing a government-owned land, the fees will be reduced by 50-100% - Tax reductions: (1) National tax (corporate tax, income tax) ▪ High tech industry assistance companies in open FDI areas: 100% for 5 years, 50% for 2 years ▪ Complex-style FDI areas: 100% for 3 years, 50% for 2 years (2) Regional tax (acquisition tax, property tax) ▪ According to relevant ordinances, up to 15 years can be applied ***************

Interview: Mr. Jean-Luc Valerio, President, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) Korea

2011-11-23T10:41:00.001+09:00

A French National, Mr. Jean-Luc Valerio is President of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) Korea, and has been in the country since February 2007. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. The Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and EADS Astrium, the European leader in space programs from Ariane to Galileo. In 2010, the Group’s 10th anniversary year, it generated revenues of € 45.8 billion and employed a workforce of some 122,000. Before relocating to Korea, Mr. Valerio was Senior Vice-President, EADS International-China, and also Head of Singapore Office of EADS International. An aeronautical engineering, he graduated from the French Air Force Academy (Ecole de l’Air) and also has a military pilot licence. “I have been here in Korea for four and a half years now, having arrived in February 2007. Over the past 17 years I have worked mainly in Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, China and now Korea. Japan is the only country in this region that I haven’t worked in,” he said. Speaking on the business operations of his company, Mr. Valerio noted that EADS has had an average 500 million euro turnover over the last 5 years, and the major part is the sale of Airbus planes to the two national carriers Korean Air and Asiana : the other part being helicopter and Satellites. We are now targeting to introduce our combat jet (the Eurofighter) and some missile systems. In January this year, Asiana Airlines placed an order for six A380s, even as Korean air already started operating the superjumbo jets. Korean Air’s second Airbus A380 started operating long-distance routes from Aug. 9 on the Incheon-New York corridor. The first A380 made its debut on June 6 and is currently employed for the Incheon-Tokyo and Incheon-Hong Kong routes. The airline will take possession of a total of fiveA380s by the end of this year for its Paris and Los Angeles routes. In fact, according to the company’s estimates, Korea would account for around 3.6 percent of the 8,014 aircraft that will be ordered from the Asian region over the next 20 years. Korean orders would amount to around $55 billion out the $1.18 trillion that Asia is expected to spend on aircraft during this period. Another lucrative business section is the defense sector. In fact, it was on his watch that EADS was able to break the stranglehold of US defense companies in the country, with the signing of an MOU, with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) on October 18th, 2007, to create a Joint Venture Company for the worldwide sales and marketing of the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH). The project is aimed at producing hundreds of helicopters to replace the aging UH-1H Hueys currently in service. Not only is KUH being built on Eurocopter's latest technology to be used domestically, but is also aimed for exports into the global market, starting next year. While test flights have already been conducted, mass production will begin in March 2012, and full-scale production in June 2012. In July this year, the company also announced a multi-million euro contract from Korean Aircraft Industries to supply 24 of its AN/AAR-60 MILDS missile warning systems, with deliveries continuing until 2013. Each system uses about 4 passive sensors, which detect the ultraviolet radiation signature of approaching missiles. As for the space sector, the Astrium-built multi-mission Communications, Oceanography and Meteorology Satellite (COMS) was officially handed over to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in August this year. Astrium was contracted by KARI, to design and manufacture the country’s first multifunctional geostationary satellite, COMS, and was launched by Ariane 5 on 26 June 2010. A veritable ‘Swiss Army knife’ of a satellite, COMS is the first three-axis stabilised geostationary observation satellite developed and manufactured by a European company to carry three payloads dedicated to meteorology applications, ocean observation and telecommunications. The handover follows in-orbit acceptance of the satellite, which was successfully completed on March 17th, 2011. He said that his company continues to see strong business prospects in Korea in all the three segments. The advantage of being in Korea is that the relationships are quite regulated and one knows what they have to deal with. This is mostly true for all democracies. For that matter, EADS has been very successful in Asia, with the region accounting for 25 percent of the global sales. Asia Pacific is an important region for the EADS Group. China and India, in particular, show huge market potential, while Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam also offer significant opportunities, he said. Speaking on his role as new president of EUCCK, Mr. Valerio said he was proud and honored to be given this opportunity. In his acceptance speech at the EGM, he had pointed out three reasons for applying to run for presidency: one, to continue and build on the accomplishments achieved by Mr. Hurtiger; second, to advocate the interests of EUCCK members and improve the business environment for EU companies in Korea; and finally to promote European culture and values to Korean authorities and the local business community. He emphasized that his working experience had reinforced the commitment to European values, such as teamwork and creativity. He encouraged EUCCK members to be proud of promoting European history to their Korean counterparts. Even though Europe was currently exposed to harsh economic developments, this crisis would in retrospect prove merely to be a historical anecdote. The new EUCCK President promised to consult and work together with different stakeholder to create a positive business environment for European companies in Korea. “I have always been a pro-European and believe that Europe is stronger by being united. I do believe that differences in diversities are a positive aspect. Many see it as a liability, but I consider it as an asset and in the end the richness of different cultures will prevail,” he said. He noted that his priorities as Chamber Head will be to make sure that the Korean government is respecting their meaningful choice to open the borders to EU products, with the FTA, and there will not be any new regulation to hamper fair activity. “I will make sure that we have all the wonderful resources of business communities to create an environment for small and medium enterprises to get better access and understanding of the Korean market.” In his message to all EUCCK members, Mr. Valerio noted that even as the EU is going through the sovereign debt crisis, everyone has to keep their optimism, and not to reduce their pace or confidence in business. “We cannot be disturbed by something that will be overcome, and must be as active in promoting and innovative to prepare for exit of this crisis,” he said.

Interview: Mr. Kim Byung-soo, Director General, Foreign Investor Support Office, InvestKorea

2011-11-23T10:39:00.001+09:00

Invest KOREA (IK), Korea's national investment promotion agency, was established within the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) with the sole purpose of supporting the entry and successful establishment of foreign business into Korea. With assistance extending to comprehensive post-establishment services, IK enables foreign corporations to maximize the benefits of the Korean investment environment to ensure their rapid settlement in Korea. The agency is committed to providing unmatched, comprehensive one-stop service that allows foreign investors to join many of the world's most successful corporations who have selected Korea as an investment destination and been rewarded by high returns on the investment. The new head of the Foreign Investor Support Office in the investment promotion agency, Invest Korea, is not only experienced and proactive, but is also full of fresh ideas to help investors. As noted by Mr. Kim Byung-soo, Director General, Foreign Investor Support Office, the agency attracts foreign investment by identifying potential foreign investors, supporting investment projects, providing aftercare services for foreign investors, and building a cooperative network with related organizations. Prior to heading the office in January this year, Mr. Kim was with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy as Director, Foreign Investment Policy Division. This Division comes under the authority of the Vice Minister for Trade & Energy in MKE. It is more like a back office of foreign investment related issues. “My main role in MKE was to provide all the logistics support for needed for the implementation of the Foreign Investment Promotion Act. This Act aims to encourage foreign investment through deregulation by providing tax incentives and financial assistance; deals with foreign investment and technology, and introduces a reporting system with regard to foreign investment in Korea. However, now my main job is to implement these very same policies,” he said. In a sense, this gives him the opportunity to deal directly with foreign investors and know their problems. While trying to solve the problems faced by investors, he has to sometimes deal with uncooperative officials in various ministries and local governments. But that has not stopped him from giving his 100 percent to the job, even at the risk of “begging” lower rank officials to help foreign investors. “For me, FDI does not refer to Foreign Direct Investment. Rather, it is Frontier Development Initiative and going even further, Friendship Development Intiative. It is very important to develop friendly relations with investors inorder to understand their problems to solve them,” he said. Since relocating to Invest Korea, he has made it a point to visit the various industrial sites which have a high proportion of foreign investors, to meet with them and understand the difficulties that they may be facing. He has also been going on invesment promotion trips abroad to meet potential investors. “One has to be proactive and meet foreign investors to anticipate what problems they may face. I do not like to wait for them to come to me with their problems, but want to solve them before they become big issues.” Recalling some of the notable cases that he has encountered so far, he said that Scania Korea and Edwards Korea faced some ‘unsolvable’ difficulties. But, after persisting with the various government departments, he was able to make a breakthrough. Speaking on the main objectives of the Foreign Investor Support Office, he said the investment promotion and support capability has been considerably strengthened by the introduction of the Project Manager (PM) system, under which a PM is designated for each investment project to offer customized support throughout its entirety, from providing investment consultation and obtaining licenses and approvals to actually launching a business. “In addition to the project managers, we have a pool of experts in such fields as finance, tax, law, securities, accounting, and construction to smooth the foreign investment process and ensure that investors claim the full range of benefits available,” he said. The office provides support throughout each stage of the investment project, from international promotion of Korea's image and identification of target companies to delivery of customized assistance ranging from research and planning to implementation. The agency also provides substantive feedback from investors to policymakers in order to constantly improve the investment environment. “The range of services we offer has been significantly enhanced following the opening of the Investor Consulting Center (ICC) within Invest Korea Plaza. The center provides information and assistance on a variety of matters relating to foreign investment and daily living in Korea, from selecting plant sites and forging alliances with Korean partners, to education and accommodation.” Additional business-related assistance are provided by officials seconded from the Ministry of Justice, the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Office, and the courts of law, all of whom offer a broad range of administrative support and respond to complaints made by foreign investors. “I prefer to call this center as Inter Cultural Communication since we provide one-stop consulting services free of charge to foreigners who wish to invest in Korea.The services include pre-investment market research, administrative support, and settlement assistance, for the successful establishment of business in Korea.” The center is staffed by consultants, comprising private-sector experts recruited from key investment-related fields, and civil servants seconded from other major government agencies and ministries, in order to provide systematic and professional consultation services. At the ICC, investors can receive one-on-one consultations on taxation, accounting, and law in the beginning of an investment, and receive administrative assistance directly from government officials for visa application, certification of the completion of investment in kind, and business registration. The center also provides personalized life settlement consultations and a one-day, on-site assistance to help investors settle successfully in Korea. “My main role is to help the foreign investors and I am satisfied only if they do not face any problems while doing business in Korea,” he said.

Interview: Mr. Karel de Gucht, European Union Trade Commissioner

2011-10-24T11:31:00.000+09:00

In January 2010, Mr. Karel de Gucht, took over as the European Commissioner for Trade. At the same time, in the new Commission the trade portfolio was extended to cover the coordination of industrial relations with other world powers (Transatlantic Economic Council, TEC). Previously, he had served as the development & humanitarian aid commissioner, Belgian deputy prime minister, and Belgian minister of foreign affairs. He has a law degree from the Free University of Brussels, and at the age of 26 become a member of the European Parliament. After 14 years of active experience, Commissioner De Gucht became a Belgian senator, and a year later was elected to the Flemish Parliament as a member of the Vlaams Liberaal Democraten, and served as party chairman from 1999–2003. Commissioner De Gucht is a lawyer and teaches at the Free University of Brussels. In 2002, he received the title of minister of state. In an exclusive interview, Commissioner De Gucht speaks about the EU trade policy, EU-Korea FTA and his priorities:

In November last year, the European Commission laid out its blueprint for an EU trade policy, for five years, to help revitalise Europe’s economy. What are the main elements of this strategy and what has been the progress so far? This is a time when Europe and most of the other developed economies are under the threat of economic stagnation or even decline. We are facing years of constrained demand, arising from the financial crisis and the imbalances it brought to our economies. In this context, the main objective of the EU trade policy is to be a catalyst of growth and employment. Our main tools are the multilateral Doha agenda, as well trade agreements with individual partner countries. The multilateral track is very important as, in my opinion, the WTO framework is what kept the world from sinking into protectionism throughout the economic crisis. Bilateral agreements can also play a very useful and complementary role insofar as they allow us to pursue levels of liberalisation which go beyond the Doha agenda, and to pursue them faster. The EU-Korea FTA is one big achievement of this policy so far. We hope to secure similar deals with other major EU trade partners, such as India and Mercosur. We are also renewing our efforts to ensure that European business gets a fair deal and that our rights are respected. As an example of that, we are working on a EU instrument to help secure better and reciprocal access to public procurement markets in developed countries and large emerging markets. Our studies indicate that in the EU thirty-six million jobs depend directly on indirectly on trade. By completing the already tabled trade agreements, and working together with our partners to further liberalize trade, we can increase the EU GDP by 150 billion euro. To illustrate, this is the same as the GDP of a country like Ireland. Our message to European citizens, companies and Member States is that trade is not a cause our employment problems, but part of the solution, and a vital component of the EU overall strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It is now over 100 days since the EU-Korea FTA was implemented. From an EU perspective, do you think the results so far are satisfactory? Although it is quite early to comment on the impact of the EU-Korea FTA after only 3 months of operation, we can already see some benefits materializing: Trade flows had a positive initial response to the FTA, especially on the side of EU exports which showed well over 20% growth relative to 2010. Export sales for certain EU agricultural products such as pork, cheese, wine, chocolate or luxury products such as cars, clothes and accessories have gone up, while prices have decreased for Korean consumers. This is good for EU companies but also for Korean consumers who have wider choice and cheaper prices. At a time of increasing inflationary pressures in Korea, in particular for foodstuffs, this must be a welcome contribution. At consumer level, FTA has created more awareness among Korean consumers and people for EU products. There is also a positive "perception" effect that quality EU products are becoming a better value for Koreans, due to the lower duties. On the regulatory field, since 1st July double certification is not required anymore for most safety standards for EU cars imported into Korea. EU industrial equipment and machinery can also can be self-certified in Europe by the manufacturer for Korean electromagnetic compatibility and electric safety requirements. This is a very important achievement, for two product categories that together represent nearly 40% of the EU exports. We also now have a more solid framework for regulatory co-operation, to try to avoid that any non-tariff barriers that might jeopardize trade between the EU and Korean in the future. In order to maximize benefits from the FTA, EU businesses still need to learn more about its rules, the import procedures and the Korean market. For example, EU exporters need to undergo the necessary procedures with their national customs in order to become approved exporter and thus get the benefit of reduced duties. According to the feedback we received, there is still some work to be done in this respect. The 1st EU-ASEAN Business Summit took place in May this year. What was the outcome of the summit, and what are your views on economic ties with the block of ten countries? This Business Summit was the first experience for us in the context of the annual ASEAN-EU Economic Ministers Consultation. It was a positive experience, in which I was very happy to participate. My previous impressions about the creativity and dynamism of the business environment in South East Asia was confirmed by a full day of discussions which focused on a number of concrete examples and success stories, but also highlighted some of the regulatory barriers in this region, on which we need to focus. ASEAN is a huge market and one of the world's sources of economic growth. We in Europe realize very well that our continued welfare in the decades to come depends on forging stronger links with those sources of growth. Likewise, connecting to the European market will be crucial for ASEAN’s economic success as well. The European Union remains actively engaged with ASEAN as a region as well as with its members as individual countries. We are negotiating free trade agreements with Singapore and Malaysia and our door is open to other ASEAN partners sharing our objective to negotiate trade agreements for the 21st century. Historically, our negotiations with ASEAN have been somewhat complicated by the diversity of the ASEAN member countries. Although we now recognize that there is no 'one size fits all' agreement, our ultimate goal of a regional EU-ASEAN trade agreement remains valid. We are following with great interest ASEAN's steps towards an Economic Community in 2015. We support the ASEAN economic integration process —both politically and economically. With 60 years’ experience of building our own single market, we know both the challenges and the rewards brought by economic integration. The Doha Development Agenda negotiations within the World Trade Organisation continue to be in a state of flux. Do you think there will be any scope for progress on this front? What is the EU position? There is wide agreement on the importance and value of the global multilateral trading system; global trade rules have helped to limit the attempts to protect markets during the current crisis and should be used to roll back protectionism where it has occurred. The WTO has demonstrated its flexibility to adapt to the new realities of the world economy: as a global institution it genuinely reflects the changing balance in the global economy – emerging countries are now major players in the WTO, as demonstrated by their key role in the DDA. Its dispute settlement system is probably the most effective international enforcement body – all WTO members obey its rulings, even if sometimes slowly and imperfectly. The WTO has proven its worth. The EU remains committed to finding a way through the Doha impasse, but to do so will demand even greater political commitment and that requires business to speak up for the Doha Round if we are to succeed. Doha remains a deal worth doing, with important benefits for developing and emerging economies and we are really not so far apart that it could not be done. Today the WTO rules offer an important base line and the successful conclusion of the Doha talks will strengthen that, for example in the chapter on Rules, by addressing non-tariff barriers. The European sovereign debt crisis has rattled the global economy. What are your views on the present crisis? Do you think this will adversely affect the trade relations with other countries? We are well aware that the backlash from the financial and economic crisis has weakened our economic image throughout the world. Our economic recovery is robust but still uneven and several member states have a tough job in adjusting their public finances. But the economic fundamentals of the European Union are still strong and healthy, and the political sense of urgency and effectiveness in dealing with the challenges must not be doubted. The euro will survive the present difficulties and it will come out stronger. Trade is the fuel that powers the global economy. It has been one of the most important factors in the recovery – in Europe and elsewhere. The volume of global trade has recovered from the low point reached in May 2009. In many countries, exports are the only engine of growth, while competitively priced inputs are helping to businesses to keep down costs. The crisis reconfirmed the importance of global trade rules which had been taken for granted. Global trade rules provide an important shield against protectionism and a framework within which the recovery takes place. The WTO has been in charge of monitoring trade restrictive practices and protectionism in the context of the economic crisis and has estimated that new import restrictions introduced by G20 members overall affected a very small fraction of world imports. Significantly, the few protectionist measures we have seen either affected areas not currently covered by the WTO such as government procurement or were introduced by countries that are not yet part of the WTO system. However, the longer the economic crisis lasts, the more we will see protectionist pressures and assorted restrictive measures being introduced, whether in Latin America, in Asia or elsewhere. The current crisis underlines the significance of moving ahead with an ambitious trade agenda to deliver growth much needed to maintain the EU's welfare States. Trade is part of our strategy to exit the current economic crisis. Our agenda will reach beyond tariff barriers and address the regulatory practices that stop trade flowing, particularly between developed and emerging economies.

Interview: Mr. Kim Dong-soo, Chairman, Korea Fair Trade Commission

2011-09-30T10:04:00.002+09:00

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is a ministerial-level central administrative organization under the authority of the Prime Minister and also functions as a quasi-judiciary body. The Commission formulates and administers competition policies, and deliberates, decides, and handles antitrust cases. It performs its roles and duties independently without any intervention from an outside organization. The organization is committed to four main mandates : promoting competition, strengthening consumers' rights, creating a competitive environment for SMEs and restraining concentration of economic power. To that end, the Commission enforces 12 laws including the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (MRFTA). On 3 January 2011, Mr. Kim Dong-soo was appointed as the new Chairman of the KFTC. Prior to his appointment, he served as the Chairman of the Korea Exim Bank and as the vice minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. In an exclusive interview, he tells me about his priorities and plans ahead.

Could you tell us about your goals and priorities as chairman of FTC? As chairman of the KFTC in charge of competition and consumer policies, my foremost goal is to make full commitment to the essential function of the organization; promoting competition and empowering consumers. I believe such effort by the KFTC will help the value of “Fair Society", one of the administrative goals of the Korean government, is fully embraced in the market economy of Korea. With the goal of building Fair Society, the government strives to provide just reward, ensure more opportunity and fair competition and achieve social integration based on mutual trust and shared growth. In this respect, it is directly related to competition policy, whose main objective is to promote the sustained growth of the market economy based on free and fair competition. It is also consistent with the “Ecosystemic Development” President Lee Myung-bak suggested in his speech for the 66th anniversary of the national liberation as a new market paradigm to address economic bipolarization and achieve sustained growth of the economy. In that respect, the priority of the KFTC is to make unchanged effort for its essential mission of establishing free and fair market order and ensure the policy benefits are shared by those in a weaker position of our society such as the working class and small companies First, the KFTC will make proactive efforts against anticompetitive conduct such as cartel in areas closely related to ordinary people’s lives, and improve distribution structure and overhaul entry regulations so that the competition-enhancing effect can be felt by market participants. It will also come up with specific policy measures for the shared growth between small and large companies, and change the perception of the business so the business itself makes voluntary efforts toward creating an environment where they can grow together. What do you think are the main challenges that FTC faces in ensuring fair trade? Even though Korea’s history of enforcing competition law is relatively short --30 years-- compared to the EU or the U.S, the country has produced meaningful results in establishing sound market order. But, I believe there are many challenges that lie ahead for the KFTC to take a leap forward. In Korea, cartels and large companies’ unfair business practices still remain as barriers to fair trade due to a combination of historical, structural and cultural factors. First, the government-driven economic development during the 1960s and 70s created imbalance between small and large companies, and business associations have been used as a channel for participating in a cartel. Second, small companies’ heavy dependence on large companies with dominant position in the domestic market has widened the gap in bargaining power between small and large companies, and delayed the development into the competitive market structure. Moreover, influenced by the Confucianism which controls the fundamental part of Korean society, companies have maintained strong solidarity with one another, which has created the business environment occasionally misconstrued as to the formation of cartel. Furthermore, the contract culture where companies enter into a contract with counterparty on an equal footing through due process of law has not been fully established in the Korean business community. In response to those challenges, the KFTC will take legal and institutional measures as well as actively support voluntary efforts by the business community to change the corporate culture with an aim to boost corporate competitiveness and establish sound market order. What is your opinion on the central government’s pledge to foster “shared growth” between large companies and their smaller suppliers? The past government-driven economic strategy highly focused on large companies has made imbalance between small and large companies deeply entrenched in the Korean economy, causing serious problems. Small companies increasingly depended on large companies, which took up dominant share of domestic demand, and this widened the gap in bargaining power between them. Unfair business practices caused by the power gap between small and large companies still remain, disrupting the development of the business ecosystem. Therefore, for sustained growth of the Korean economy, there should be further efforts to achieve the shared growth between small and large companies so that they can compete with each other on an equal footing. To realize the shared growth of small and large companies: ① relevant laws and systems should be improved; ② corporate culture should be changed (by, for example, encouraging the signing of the Agreement on Fair Subcontract and Shared Growth); and ③ there should be active enforcement efforts against law violations. Changes in corporate values and perception through voluntary efforts by companies are particularly important for establishing fair trade practices and the environment for the shared growth. That is because fundamental improvement on this matter can be made only when large companies change their perception, practices, values and culture, and small companies strengthen their competitiveness. With this in mind, the KFTC revised the Fair Subcontract Transaction Act to improve legal grounds for the shared growth between small and large companies, and supported the signing of the Agreement on Fair Subcontract and Shared Growth between 93 large companies and their 32,000 small suppliers. The KFTC will continue such efforts in the latter half this year by improving the criteria for assessing the implementation of the Agreement so that practical benefits from the shared growth efforts (e.g., adjustment in unit prices or sales commissions) can be enjoyed also by second- and lower-tier suppliers. Recently we saw instances of uncooperative behavior or obvious interference by businesses with a Fair Trade Commission investigation. What steps are you taking to ensure that this does not happen in the future? Obstruction of the KFTC’s investigation constitutes an act of defiance of public authority that severely undermines law and order. In that recognition, the KFTC will take all the possible legal measures within its authority against such violation to maintain legal order and send a clear message that the damage incurred to the company by obstruction of an investigation would be severe. For this purpose, the KFTC applies through penalty against those who interfere with an investigation by imposing administrative fines, heightening the ceiling of aggravated surcharge and bringing a charge to the prosecution. The KFTC will continually update its investigative techniques and enhance compliance of respondent companies through valid procedures to achieve administrative objectives without causing unnecessary friction with companies subject to an investigation. As part of the effort, the KFTC set up a digital forensics team to strengthen capability for obtaining digital evidences in May 2010, and provides staff education on investigative techniques on a regular basis. Furthermore, it makes utmost efforts to minimize inconvenience caused by an investigation and ensure procedural fairness by, for instance, informing an investigated company on its rights and clarifying the purpose and scope of an investigation. Moreover, the Ombudsman Program is in operation to listen to complaints of investigated companies that may arise in the course of the KFTC’s investigation. What is your message to EU investors? The EU is a very important economic partner to Korea as the nation’s second-largest export market and the biggest foreign investor that accounts for 43% of the investment destined for Korea. Korea, the 4th-largest trading partner to the EU, also has strong presence in the EU market based on strong collaborative relationship between the two sides with around 500 companies operating there. The Korea-EU FTA that came into effect on July 1, 2010 will open up new horizons for the economic relationship between the two sides with the accelerated market opening, strong push for corporate innovation and enhanced consumer welfare. The KFTC will faithfully perform its role of establishing and enforcing fair rules as a “referee in the market” so that benefits from the open and free market can be maximized across the Korean economy. The Commission will relax regulations, such as entry regulations, to ensure that all the companies in Korea do business freely regardless of their nationality, and take strict approach to unfair business practices that disrupt the market order to protect creative entrepreneurship and consumer rights. Foreign companies operating in Korea have made a lot of efforts to keep up to date with the global standard in competition law, as shown in its active use of the Cartel Leniency Program. I hope they make continued efforts to spread the pro-competitive culture, and understand the Korean government’s firm commitment to development of the market economy. And I assure you that the KFTC is always open to all the foreign business persons in Korea who have any complaints or suggestions in the course of doing business in Korea.

Interview: Mr. Lee Chae-pil, Minister of Employment & Labor

2011-08-23T11:49:00.002+09:00

In early June this year, President Lee Myung-bak carried out a cabinet reshuffle, replacing five key ministers. Mr. Lee Chae-pil, was nominated and then confirmed as the new Minister of Employment & labor. The new minister has been vice labor minister since March 2010. His work on labor issues dates back to 1982 and was a Blue House official for labor in the early 1990s. In an exclusive interview Minister Lee outlines his policy vision and plans.

Could you please describe the Ministry’s policy priorities and objectives for 2011? The Ministry of Employment and Labor recently announced our vision and mission. Our vision is ‘to ensure employment for all and to make a happy nation through work’. To realize this vision, the Ministry is promoting policy measures to provide support for job seekers, enhance competitiveness through vocational skills development, and develop labor-management relations based on trust and harmony, etc. I and the entire staff are determined to carry out those missions. We are reestablishing our resolve to make ourselves ‘warriors for jobs’. As shown in our vision, the Ministry’s foremost priority is to provide quality employment for anyone who wants to work. After being appointed as the Minister of Employment and Labor, I pledged to focus on improving the labor market and labor-management relations so that it can contribute to creating more jobs. Private companies which create jobs lie at the center of the labor market, and these companies are also able to grow and become more innovative through quality workforce. The Ministry will spare no efforts in setting up various support schemes for employed workers and jobseekers, as well as enabling companies to hire right people to strengthen their competitiveness. The Ministry currently implements a policy on improving labor market flexibility to attract foreign investment. What policy measures are being taken? It is not easy to make a uniformed assessment of the labor market flexibility in Korea. It seems that there is a wide-spread belief that Korea’s labor market is not flexible. I believe this perception mainly stems from the lack of flexibility in certain areas of the labor market such as large companies, companies that have labor unions and full-time employees. Contrarily, some experts point out that the Korean labor market in SMEs and non-regular workers is too flexible, and raise the issue of employment insecurity. In fact, Korea turns out to have a slightly more flexible labor market than other OECD countries according to the OECD’s assessment of Employment Protection Legislation (EPL). As of 2008, Korea ranked 13th among 30 countries. The main task of the Ministry is to find balance between employment flexibility and security, which is called ‘flexicurity’. For this purpose, more efforts will be made to spread a performance-oriented wage system and create a cooperative environment between labor and management. We are also going to strengthen support and protection for SME employees and non-regular workers. In order to support an effective operation of labor market, vocational training and employment service is continuously being reshaped and reinforced to meet the needs of job seekers and firms. Recently national employment service has been strengthened in collaboration with the private services. The Ministry is also concentrating on creating blue ocean jobs by trying to increase decent part-time jobs and supporting start-ups of new businesses and jobs. I believe such policy measures will not only help reform the labor market but also contribute to improving the investment climate by enabling companies to recruit more talented workers. Korea began to display a stabilized labor-management relations following the 1998 financial crisis; of note, the smallest number of labor-management disputes occurred last year. However, the labor market continues to demand the revision of the Labor Union Act, and the labor-management relations of foreign companies (including banks) seem unstable. What are your views on this? Labor-management relations in Korea have shown stability in 2010 and this year as well. In 2010, an indicator such as number of days not worked per 1,000 employees posted figures lower than the OECD average for the first time. As of mid-July 2011, the number of labor dispute cases declined 18.9% from the previous year. I’m glad to give the news that the paid time-off system, the multiple trade unions system and the single bargaining channel are being implemented very smoothly. Those policies are keys to enhancing labor-management relations to a more sophisticated level. The time-off system, which was introduced in July of 2010, has been adopted by 92.7% of business units as of June-end 2011 and 99.2% cases conform to the time-off ceiling. The multiple trade unions system and the single bargaining channel have also been in smooth implementation starting July of this year. I would like to emphasize that the revised Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act(TULRAA) was based on agreement among the labor, management and government, taking into account actual labor-management relations in Korea whilst complying with global standards. The revised law ensures the autonomy of labor union and the right to organize of workers. Going forward, the government will work towards establishing ‘a rule of law’ and ‘a rule of autonomy’ on labor-management relations via the time-off system and multiple trade unions system. Under the new circumstances, labor unions need to work towards better representing and providing quality services for its members and companies need to develop more reasonable labor-management relations. As a minister in charge of employment and labor, it is very unfortunate to see the prolonged dispute at SC First Bank. Dispute between labor and management not only causes tangible losses for the parties involved but also inconveniences of the public. It weakens the growth capacity of companies in the long run. I hope realistic solutions acceptable to both parties are developed soon so that the dispute can be resolved harmoniously and peacefully. The employment market in the first half of this year continued to improve thanks to steady industrial output and export growth. What is your outlook and assessment of the employment market, and what measures are being taken? In the first half of 2011, the number of employed people increased 412,000 from the previous year. Based on the steady improvement in employment numbers since last year, the employment rate (between the age of 15~64) recovered to the pre-financial crisis level of 64.7% in June. In particular, it is encouraging that full-time positions increased in the manufacturing and private sectors. However, the actual sentiment people has on the employment market has yet to improve. The number of people in the vulnerable employment group in the first half of 2011 remains high at 1.97 million. Unemployment of the young people is still severe, though the unemployment rate among the young people declined slightly to 7.6% in June 2011 from 8.3% in June 2010. Also, the employment markets in certain regions have deteriorated. The economic recovery trend is expected to continue in the second half of the year, but incessant efforts are needed so that the recovery trend leads to more employment opportunities. In particular, the Ministry plans to focus on implementing customized employment policy measures that take into account the needs of the unemployed youths and the vulnerable employment group. As a part of these efforts, we kicked-off the ‘On-Site Job+ Team’ in the first half of 2011. The Team, which consists of the Ministry’s entire staff, tries to identify difficulties in running business at first hand and works to resolve them through government-wide cooperation. A total of 9,955 workplaces were visited till June in which 8,498 complaints were heard such as difficulties in finding right people, inconvenience in commuting, etc. As of July, 4,443 cases have been resolved.Further support will be provided in the latter half of the year to reduce hurdles to job creation and change inadequate regulations.

Social Media Explained

2011-08-05T10:16:00.002+09:00

Interview: Mr. Tang Jun, Chairman, YangGuang Co. Ltd.,

2011-07-27T10:34:00.001+09:00

YangGuang Co., Ltd. is a public company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 1996. In 2006, YangGuang signed an investment agreement with Reco Shine Pte Ltd., which is a subsidiary of GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd., and became the first A-share listed real estate company in China with a foreign investor being its major shareholder.

Mr. Tang Jun, Chairman, Yangguang, tells us bout his company plans and the Chinese real estate market.

Could you give us some background about your company?
YangGuang focuses on holding, investing, leasing and managing the operations of commercial real estate, while at the same time being involved with the development and management of high-end apartments, hotels, office buildings, and urban complexes. In order to establish a competitive advantage in the commercial real estate industry, our company strives to integrate commercial resources to create a model that covers investment, planning, development, and the business operations of the entire process. The company is committed to maximizing returns for investors, providing the best benefits for its tenants, and creating enjoyable shopping experience for consumers. With more than ten years of professional experience in real estate development operations, the company has set up a business scale that focuses on development around the Bohai Sea region, while at the same time emphasizing nationwide development and expansion. As of December 2010, the company owned and managed a total of 26 large-scale commercial real estate projects, covering a total floor area exceeding 1.5 million square meters. Taking into account all these accomplishments and plans, YangGuang is steadily marching towards the ultimate goal of “becoming China’s leading commercial real estate group”.Transformed from a residential housing real estate dealer to a commercial real estate dealer, YangGuang is endowed with competitive advantages that are lacking in traditional commercial real estate dealers, for instance, concept of innovative capital operation, whole value-chain operating mode, rich product development and operation, sound partnership resources, and professional real estate development team etc.As far as capital operation is concerned, YangGuang actively explores and develops new financing channel and establishes “finance + real estate” business mode, which provides commercial real estate operation with abundant fund guarantee. The company has already established long-term successful project cooperation with GIC RE, and will still expand the scale and scope for future cooperation. At the same time, the company has also established commercial real estate funds and is actively developing financing channel.With regard to business operation, YangGuang exerts itself to build the entire value-chain operating modes, covering investment, planning, development, leasing and operation. Through the entire value-chain system management and effective key aspect control and organic inter value-chain synergy, the company has formed core competitiveness. Meanwhile, YangGuang selects retail commercial real estate as its main business orientation, for among numerous commercial real estate classifications, retail commercial real estate has relatively convenient for redevelopment and improvement. If also supported by appropriate operation management, its long-term return will be quite considerable.After many years of development, YangGuang has accumulated rich product development experience; the three product brands, namely, the “Life Square” (阳光新生活广场), the “Shine City” (新业广场), and the “YangGuang Center” (阳光新业中心), which have been created through standardization process, cover the main types of commercial projects, and will be improved and upgraded continually in the process of product replication. The current successful commercial real estate development case in places, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Chengdu, and Shenyang etc., enabled the enterprise to have accumulated mature product development experiences.
Moreover, YangGuang has established strategic cooperative partnership with numerous international and domestic well-known brands, such as Carrefour, Wal-Mart Stores, Watsons, Ito Yokado, Gome, and Suning etc., and the stable and quality customer resources have ensured completion of investment promotion of commercial real estate projects in advance, endowing the company therefore with a complete operation system.Like all successful enterprises, YangGuang has a powerful team of commercial real estate management. At present, YangGuang owns a management team with several hundred members, and it will continue to grow along with increase of the number of commercial projects. Relying on its own professional team of commercial real estate management, YangGuang itself controls all aspects from development and investment promotion to later stage operation management. This is also the whole value-chain representation and preparation for output of future commercial real estate management operation.
Where to invest in China? Does the biggest potential lie in second – and third-tier cities rather than in first-tier cities?As far as commercial real estate is concerned, the best region for investment in China is still concentrated on cities, and whether in the first tier cities or the second and third tier cities, they all have opportunities. As early as in 2007, YangGuang developed a Bohai rim region strategy, while at the same time paying close attention to the balanced development in the national market. After carrying out an in-depth assessment in key areas, and taking expansion from one single project to more opportunities which cover the entire area as our layout strategy, we have currently mapped out and identified 10 cities covering the four major areas of China, and developed complete strategies for steadily expanding our projects. The layout cities include: Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang, Chengdu, Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Yantai, Shijiazhuang, and Tangshan. In the future, in regions such as the Bohai rim region, North China, Central China, Northwest China, and Southwest China etc. where branch companies have already been set up with also project establishment, we will further strengthen and consolidate our basis. With respect to the Yangtze River Delta, Zhujiang River Delta, the Southwest Region and the Northeast Region of China, we will also actively search for quality resources conforming to our corporate strategy, and wait for opportunity for expansion.With respect to potentials, though the second and the third tier cities have indeed enormous opportunities for development, the first tier cities have also great space and opportunity for development. Even though the first tier cities have relatively less opportunities and a relatively higher threshold, with growth of population, they will certainly form many “emerging urban districts”, and these urban sub-centers are precisely where the potentials of the first tier cities lie, such as one of our commercial projects in Tongzhou District, Beijing (Tongzhou Life Square). In 2006 when we purchased this project, though it had advantageous geographical location and consumption potentials at that time, as a commercial real property, it had problems in architectural structure, retail format planning, brands level etc., which made it unfavorable for business operation. After purchase, the company re-planned its retail format, making it more reasonable. With these improvements, performance of this project has realized steady growth, and the sales volume of the anchor tenants and secondary anchor tenants also achieved steady increase. Within just a short period of three years after redevelopment, the rental income for the two years, namely 2008 and 2009, increased by 43% and 11% respectively on a year-on-year basis, and with impact of the 2009 financial crisis, it still achieved a steady growth.While making its layout in the suburbs of the first tier cities and in the second and the third tier cities, YangGuang hasn’t given up its steps of overall arrangement in the first tier city urban core areas. At present, the company has already been entrusted with the management of certain large-scale business project located in the Beijing core CBD area (Beijing International Center). At the same time, in the core area of Tianjin, a landmark “Tianjin YangGuang Center” is also in planning.As China’s real estate market is a typical “policy market”, one should pay attention to policy orientation. It is clear from the 12th five-year plan that, in the next 4-5 years, the second and the third tier cities will be the focus of national development. Adapting to the general background of the times, YangGuang had already started to gradually make overall arrangement in the second and the third tier cities as early as several years ago. With mega cities as support, small and medium cities as focus, the company has been vigorously developing the second and the third tier cities, helping to build some urban commercial centers with sustainable operation ability, building commercial ecological circle, and bringing harmonious local economic and social development. For instance, not long ago, YangGuang had reached an intent of cooperation with Beiguan Village of Xi’an city concerning reconstruction of the old marketplace of the urban village, and the project will be reconstructed into a local large-scale commercial complex.
What are the best market entry strategies as a foreign investor, developer, and retailer?At the early period of their market access, overseas investors, developers and retailers may consider finding a domestic cooperative partner in China and, through cooperation with local enterprise, steadily develop their business.With respect to the mode of operation, investors and developers may consider participating in cooperation with domestic enterprises by means of project cooperation or capital injection. For instance, the cooperation between YangGuang and GIC RE, in 2006, YangGuang entered into a strategic investment agreement with Reco Shine Company, a subsidiary of GIC RE, becoming the first domestic A-share market listed real estate company that has introduced international strategic investment into China. In 2007, after completion of private offering of additional shares, we conducted large-scale, extensive and in-depth cooperation with GIC RE. For instance, in 2008, we together completed large-scale overall acquisition towards 18 projects of the Home World (家世界), and both parties jointly held commercial property assets, which became a typical case of cooperation between overseas investors and domestic developers in the commercial real estate market.For access to the China market, overseas retailers may borrow lessons from the cooperation between YangGuang and Ito Yokado. YangGuang implements order-type of thought for commercial real estate development. In its very beginning of cooperation with Ito Yokado, YangGuang first defined its intention of shop setup and location requirements, and carefully examined and recommended appropriate projects. In its very beginning of design, construction and investment promotion, YangGuang “customized” the projects in strict accordance with the advanced Japanese concepts of shopping center and the spatial layout, architectural structure, public support, fire fighting arrangement, as well as traffic and people flow of commercial complex per requirements of Ito Yokado, and realized the maximum and perfect harmony and unity between the shopping environment and customers, and between customers and the architectural structure, thereby ensuring operation of the moved-in tenant in accord with their wishes and convenience and comfortable shopping of consumers. This kind of mode of commercial customization of YangGuang can ensure quick opening by overseas retailers of the China market and, at the same time, retain the local features and characteristics of overseas enterprises, it is therefore highly welcomed by various leading domestic and overseas retail enterprises and brands. At present, YangGuang has already established long-term strategic cooperative partnership with a number of large-scale domestic and overseas retailers, such as Ito Yokado, Carrefour, Vanguard, The Home Depot, and Wal-Mart Stores etc.
What are the major challenges as a foreign investor? How do you manage risk?In recent years, with continuous deepening of the opening-up of China’s business market, foreign capital business enterprises have landed in China one after another, and while bringing bout opportunities, the China’s market is also hidden with enormous challenges.Failure to adapt to the local circumstances and conditions is a major trouble for foreign capital. First of all, from the policy environment point of view, although a series of new policy measures to promote mutual investment have already been launched in recent years, for instance, the gradual lessening of restrictions on the percentage of shares of foreign investment and allowing domestic market listing of foreign enterprises etc., China nevertheless still has certain restriction policies on foreign investment and acquisition etc., and relative to local enterprises, foreign investors have certain threshold to cross. At the same time, many relevant policies and evaluation systems in China are somehow different from that of foreign countries. Moreover, with respect to market space, industrial support, and labor quality of China etc., there are still certain differences from that of foreign countries, and many overseas business models are not applicable to China at all.With respect to control of risks, overseas investors may search for reliable partners to gradually adapt to the rule of the game of the China market. For instance, GIC, the strategic investor of YangGuang and also one of the world largest fund management companies in the world, manages over USD 100 billion assets in the world, and its steady and robust investment style makes it select global-wide partners with deliberation, and at present, YangGuang is its only strategic cooperative partner in the field of retail real estate in China. As far as YangGuang is concerned, GIC is its financial investor on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also brings about the most advanced international project management and operation experience for YangGuang, and dissolved many worries in project development and operation. This multi-dimensional mode of cooperation can reduce risks of overseas investors and obtain stable investment return and, at the same time, enable fast development of local enterprises.From another point of view, as a local developer with certain basis, in the “policy market” environment of China, YangGuang is endowed with unparalleled advantages of foreign enterprises. We can, with sound government relations, maintain and get quality project resources; through control of project startup and completion schedule, ensure the time of project opening; through scientific mode of retail format planning and the accumulated investment promotion resources, ensure overall project business benefits; and through strengthening business operation ability and extent of promotion, ensure enhancement of business project operation and increase of rental income; and through whole value-chain control of the whole commercial real estate industry, minimize its own and investor’s return risks.Moreover, as far as overseas investors are concerned, if they are not interested in direct enterprise investment or worried about the withdrawing system, they may consider searching for inland powerful cooperative partners to access the domestic commercial real estate market by way of commercial real estate funds or commercial real estate trust through help in financing. For instance, YangGuang has also set up its own fund company, and it has had already some attempt in this type of business operation. The fund company is now in sound operation, and in the future it will be the focus of our business development.

Interview: Mr. Kim Young-hwan, Chairman, National Assembly's Knowledge Economy Committee

2011-07-08T10:15:00.001+09:00

The Standing Committees of the National Assembly examine bills and petitions falling under their respective jurisdictions, and perform other duties as prescribed by other Acts. There are 16 standing committees of which the Knowledge Economy Committee is quite important. The chairman of each Standing Committee represents the Standing Committee, regulate its proceedings, maintain order, and supervise its affairs.

Mr. Kim Young-hwan, Chairman of the National Assembly's Knowledge Economy Committee was born in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province. Graduating from Yonsei School of Dentistry, he got a master’s degree in economy from the same university. In 1996, he was first elected to enter the National Assembly. He was reelected in 2000 to serve for the second term, yet failed in his third attempt in 2004. In 2009, he was elected.

Under the Kim Dae-jung administration in 2001, he was appointed as the minister for education, science and technology, which he stayed for one year. He was the youngest in the ministry’s history, and was recognized again by his book entitled, “Will fart spark the fire.”

He assumed the chairman of the National Assembly’s Knowledge Economy Committee in 2009, for which he still serves.

In an exclusive interview to Infomag, Mr. Kim speaks on various issues under his mandate.

What is the first and foremost principle of the Knowledge Economy Committee?There are three. The first is laying the foundation for sufficient discussion and communication. We try to create an environment in which committee members can hold in-depth discussions and exchange views. The second is keeping our eyes and ears open. The committee welcomes companies, including small retailers and traders, to express their opinions. We would also like to meet with European business leaders to directly hear from them on challenges and difficulties in doing business in Korea. The third is keeping up to date with the latest industry-related news and issues. For this, we encourage government officials, businessmen and experts to come together and openly discuss issues whenever they arise.
What is your view of the government’s green growth policy?The government is working on meeting the target of reducing CO2 emissions by 20%, such as increasing R&D and encouraging businesses to save energy and increase the use of renewable energy. There are efforts being made to foster green industries (e.g. renewable energy) and develop the carbon capture & storage technology (CCST) to reduce CO2 emissions.
What advice do you have for the government in regards to realizing energy independence?We need to prepare for the post-Fukushima era. However, the government maintains the same energy mix and nuclear energy policy stance as it did prior to the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Unlike Germany and Switzerland which decided to shut down its nuclear power plants, the Korean government seems to have shifted its policy to focus more on nuclear energy. From a personal standpoint, I believe that there needs to be focus on other sources of power generation other than nuclear energy. What is needed is a roadmap for reducing nuclear energy use and concentrating on R&D and business support. Careful and meticulous planning is required as Korea is not abundant in natural resources. The government should aggressively pursue policies aimed at energy saving and renewable energy development.
Do you think the current policy is sufficient to promote small and medium-sized enterprises?In Korea, there are 304 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), accounting for 99.9% of total number of companies, with relevant workers representing 87.7% of total employment. Although SMEs are a pivotal part of the economy, there seems to be a serious imbalance between large-sized companies and SMEs. Polarization is seen amid the turbulent economic environment, in which large companies posted record-high earnings whereas small and medium businesses saw operating margins decline. Moreover, large enterprises are aggressively moving into sectors that are led by SMEs and taking away their source of income. In order for SMEs to strengthen competitiveness, they need to concentrate on five areas: 1) increasing R&D investment 2) limiting sectors to prevent large companies from taking over 3) building infrastructure to foster small and medium-sized export companies 4) recruiting additional workers to address workforce-workplace mismatch 5) supporting one-man businesses and start-ups by young people. A structural system needs to be in place for SMEs to develop into larger and successful businesses. SMEs need strong foundations in order to grow and thus contribute to Korea’s economic growth.
What would you like to tell foreign investors?Korea following the 1997 Asian financial crisis has been striving to improve the foreign investment environment. In 2010, despite the challenging economic climate at home and abroad, Korea achieved economic growth rate of 6.1% (the highest among OECD member countries), exports amounted to $470 billion (seventh largest in the world), and per capita income re-entered the $20,000 level. Foreign investment companies played a key role in Korea overcoming the financial crisis of 1997 and the global financial crisis of 2008.
I consider Korea to be an island rather than a peninsula. Surrounded by the ocean on three sides and bordered to the north by China, Korea has remained an isolated island for thousands of years. It is time to decide whether to remain isolated or move forward. Korea will continue to open its doors to foreign investors going forward. As the chair of the Knowledge Economy Committee, I will also do my best to create a foreign business-friendly environment.

Interview: Ms. Sandra A. Urie, Chairman & CEO, Cambridge Associates

2011-07-06T11:22:00.001+09:00

Cambridge Associates is a privately held independent consulting firm that provides investment consulting and oversight services to more than 900 clients worldwide. The company strives to help global institutional investors and private clients meet or exceed their investment objectives by offering proactive, unbiased advice grounded in intensive and independent research.
In this interview, Ms. Sandra A. Urie, Cambridge Associates’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer tells us more.

Could you give us a brief background about your organization?
Cambridge Associates was formed in 1973. The concept for our firm grew out of work done for Harvard University by our two founders, James Bailey and Hunter Lewis, who are still involved in overseeing the firm today.
Over our nearly forty years in business C|A has expanded into a global investment consultancy. Our mission has remained constant: we strive to help institutions and private investors around the world meet or exceed their investment objectives by providing proactive, unbiased advice grounded in intensive and independent research.
Cambridge Associates currently has over 1,000 employees based in London, Singapore, Sydney, Arlington, Boston, Dallas, and Menlo Park, with an office to be opened in Beijing in the summer of 2011. Our professionals are dedicated to serving over 900 clients globally including colleges and universities, charitable foundations, medical institutions, museums, Sovereign Wealth Funds and other government agencies, pension funds and families. Our clients represent aggregate assets of more than US$2.5 trillion.
Our only line of business is investment consulting and its supporting functions (i.e., research and performance measurement). One-hundred percent of our revenues are derived from providing these services to our clients, the owners of the assets we advise.
• Investment Consulting: Consulting is our core business, and we advise clients on a broad range of investment issues such as portfolio strategy and policy, asset allocation, manager selection, and performance evaluation across all asset classes, including alternatives (hedge funds, private equity and private hard assets). In addition, currency hedging has been a key issue in many countries where we have clients, including Korea. We also have significant experience in providing advice on investment operations, corporate governance, risk management, and best practices in institutional investing. These are all topics that should be of interest to Korean institutional investors as they contribute to superior investment returns.
• Research: Our high-quality, independent investment and capital markets research provides the foundation for all client recommendations. We currently have more than 190 research professionals working across four continents, bringing a global perspective to our work. Our research efforts are supported by our proprietary manager database, which currently tracks over 7,000 managers and 22,200 funds across all asset classes and geographical regions. This means our clients have access to a large and global opportunity set when considering implementation strategies for their portfolios.
• Performance Measurement and Reporting: As part of the consulting relationship with our clients, we undertake performance monitoring for both marketable (e.g. public equities, fixed income, hedge funds) and private investments (e.g. private equity, real estate, venture capital, infrastructure, energy, timber). Our reports include investment returns and regular analyses of fund performance. These reports help our clients analyze their performance results, how the results were achieved, and how they compare to customized benchmark statistics.
What is your view on the current investment strategies of Korean pension funds? Should they allocate more resources to Alternatives?
Korean institutions are certainly considering expanding their policy portfolios to include more exposure to alternatives and we would certainly support that move. Depending on the alternative classes included, they can provide the potential for higher returns and also, in the case of edge funds, lower volatility. However, implementation is critical, and requires a rigorous approach to due diligence and manager selection. Few institutions, including some in Korea, have the requisite in-house experience to effectively identify, complete the due diligence on, and gain access to the best alternative asset managers on a global basis. As a result, many investors have had less than positive experiences with hedge funds during the financial crisis and find themselves under-allocated relative to their original plans.
Fear of a potential Madoff repeat looms large and reinforces the need for disciplined and comprehensive due diligence, both before making an investment and on an ongoing basis once the investment is made. The Korean investment community was hit hard by exposure to Madoff. This has caused many investors to step back and examine their investment decision-making process. For many, around the world and not just in Korea, it was a fiduciary wake up call. One of the key oles we play at Cambridge Associates is to protect investors from mistakes by working alongside internal investment professionals to provide rigorous due diligence and a global perspective on manager selection. If Korean pensions want to build out their allocation to hedge funds, they must be prepared to invest in the process of researching, selecting, and monitoring managers.
This issue is also relevant to private investments (i.e., private equity, venture capital, real estate, energy, infrastructure, and timber). Given the significant dispersion of returns among managers and their funds, manager selection and rigorous due diligence are critical. Building a private investment portfolio can significantly enhance returns, but also requires a commitment to building the resources necessary to implement and monitor managers and the patience to build out the program over time to minimize so-called vintage year risk. Based on our observations, many Korean institutional investors are looking at a narrow subset of the universe of available private investment opportunities globally, which will likely limit their ability to generate good risk-adjusted returns.
We have also seen a tendency in Korea to focus on capital preservation in nominal terms. Protecting a portfolio against nominal losses can hide the effect of ongoing inflation and can expose the portfolio to inflation-adjusted capital losses. Such an approach requires an even more vigilant focus on due diligence and manager (or asset) selection. When perceived risk is low (i.e. because of a government guarantee) nominal returns are also generally lower. We like to think in terms of risk-adjusted returns: how much incremental upside could investors receive from an additional unit of risk, and where do asymmetries exist that investors can benefit from?
What are the real estate investment intentions of global investors?
At a very basic level, many people like investing in real estate because it is a “real” asset – something you can see and touch – it typically generates both an income return and a capital return. For people who are skeptical about securitized and less tangible assets, physical real estate can bring a sense of comfort to investors. We see this particularly in Asia. Real estate can also offer investors some inflation protection through exposure to the potential for rising rents and capital appreciation when financial assets are being hurt by inflation. Public and private real estate investments can also provide valuable diversification as well as equity-like returns over the long term. Private real estate offers greater prospects for active managers to exploit opportunities and add value. On the other hand, private real estate is illiquid and more expensive. Public portfolios provide the most immediate source of diversification, whereas private real estate requires time to build. REITs generate cash flow, are liquid, and have lower fees. However, they are subject to the supply, demand, and pricing pressures of the public equity markets. The correlation of REITs to the broad equity markets would likely increase during periods of stress within the market and historically, REITs have been highly correlated to small cap value stocks.
We advise global investors to invest in real estate through a diversified set of public and private fund opportunities and to consider relative value at the time of implementation. The other interesting trend is global investors’ portfolio mix of investments in limited partnership vehicles and direct investments in properties. Large institutional investors have typically first built a portfolio of limited partnership investments, allowing them to build relationships with the fund managers over time. This can then provide a foundation for co-investments alongside these managers, as well as eventually for a portfolio of direct investments, where a sufficient in-house resource with appropriate direct investing experience exists. In the context of a large, diversified portfolio, such direct investments may be appropriate. However, smaller institutional investors might be taking unnecessary risk with direct property investments, sized too large relative to the size of their asset pool. More often, these types of institutions build exposure to real estate through limited partnership vehicles, more appropriate to their size and diversification needs. The risk in Korea is that smaller institutions, in particular those without appropriate in-house investment resources, seek to emulate the leading investors when they do not have the internal resources to implement and replicate those strategies.
Are Asia and Korea an important part of their strategy?
Yes, Asia, including Korea, is definitely considered in the opportunity set in a global portfolio. Many of our North American clients travel regularly to the region and a few have opened up offices in Asia for the very purpose of analyzing Asian investment opportunities. They are gradually increasing their exposure to alternative assets in Asia, while paying close attention to relative value at a time when a great deal of capital is flowing into emerging markets. Investors should be careful to diversify by vintage year, strategy, geographic location, property type, and manager.
What asset classes and markets are favored by global investors?
Right now it is challenging for global investors, as we are not seeing many obvious, attractive opportunities from a valuations perspective. That means we are encouraging our clients to be defensively positioned.
What does that mean?
Within equities, overweight high-quality or mega-cap growth stocks and long/short equity hedge funds. Both strategies may under-perform in a rising market, but they should prove more defensive when market corrections occur. We are also encouraging allocations to managers with flexible mandates who can respond quickly to opportunities that arise in a rapidly shifting landscape. Of course, greater selectivity and ongoing oversight is required when hiring managers with more flexible mandates. These managers should have a depth of experience in the markets they participate in and a proven record of adding value through tactical moves. We continue to be cautious on most Western developed market sovereign bonds in light of weak fundamentals and expensive valuations. Both of these factors suggest that an allocation to sovereign bonds should not be expected to provide as much defense as it has historically, and that it should be supplemented by cash when yields are very low.
In terms of markets, we are recommending that our clients stay neutral on developed market equities. Equity valuations in developed markets are generally not excessive, although U.S. equities are currently overvalued. In emerging markets, while valuations are still somewhat stretched, maintaining exposure and building a strategic overweight are important from our perspective. For those with relatively large allocations to emerging markets, we would consider a more diversified exposure utilizing a multi-asset class approach, incorporating equity, local currency debt, hedge funds, and private investments if appropriate.

Interview: Mr. Choi Joong-kyung, Minister of Knowledge Economy

2011-06-27T13:21:00.000+09:00

Minister of knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung is a veteran finance official who has served in key finance posts in the government and Blue House. He passed the civil service exam in 1978, beginning his career as a finance official. He was appointed vice minister at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance when President Lee took office in February 2008 and pushed a weak won policy to boost the country’s exports during the recent financial crisis. He also held the post of President Lee’s senior secretary for economic affairs.
In an exclusive interview, he speaks about his priorities and plans for this year.

What are your main priorities for this year, and what is your proposed action plan?
Korea posted the world’s seventh-largest export volume in 2010 and overcame the global economic crisis. However, Korea is still responding to changes in the global economic environment, including the emergence of convergence and green industries. Korea also needs to address imbalances between large companies and small and midsize companies.
To ensure the sustainable growth of the Korean economy, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) will nurture industries with significant potential to generate growth and create quality jobs. At the same time, the Ministry will train skilled workers and improve working conditions—for example, with the Quality of Working Life Valley. This project will involve turning outdated industrial complexes into multipurpose facilities that not only serve as workplaces, but also as education centers and cultural spaces. In this way, the government will attract more young people to the fields that most need workers.
In addition, the Ministry will establish a stable supply base for energy and resources in response to international price fluctuations. We will pursue more FTAs to expand Korea’s access to advanced markets. Furthermore, by strengthening industrial cooperation with emerging economies, we will achieve $1 trillion in annual trade.
In the process of implementing these policies, the Ministry will communicate closely with businesses and help them resolve any difficulties they may be facing. We hope foreign investors, who have played such an important role in the Korean economy, will invest more in the future.
How is the Ministry implementing the green growth strategy?
Korea’s green growth policy has two aims: to preserve the natural environment and to help the nation achieve sustainable growth. As of 2007, Korea ranked 38th in the world in terms of GDP per capita, and the economy needs to maintain a steady path of growth.
Korea is a nation with immense growth potential, and the government intends to encourage sustainable economic and employment growth by strengthening its efforts to address climate change. We will do this by improving energy efficiency, advancing the clean energy industries, promoting industrial convergence, and pursuing greater innovation in R&D.
The Framework Act on Low-Carbon, Green Growth was enacted on April 14, 2010. The Act requires the adoption of specific targets for energy efficiency and GHG emissions for different business categories. It also mandates the adoption of a certification program to attract green investment. Both the certification system and the strategy to reach our energy efficiency and GHG emissions targets will be in place before the end of 2011.
Furthermore, the government is making a proactive effort to strengthen the institutional framework for renewable energy and energy conservation measures. By the end of the year we will develop a strategy to enter the overseas renewable energy market and gain a sufficient share of the global market to create an export industry. To prepare for the adoption of the Renewable Portfolio Standard in 2012, the Enforcement Decree of the Act will be revised and a detailed action plan will be in place by the end of June.
What steps are you taking to increase Korea’s self-sufficiency rate in oil and gas resources? Could you tell us about support to local renewable energy test projects?
Korea depends on imports for 96.2 percent of its energy needs (2009). According to the IEA, Korea is the world’s 10th major energy consumer and its No. 9 petroleum consumer (2007). Clearly, energy self-sufficiency is an important goal because fluctuations in international energy prices affect key economic indicators such as the current account balance.
In pursuit of this goal, Korea continually seeks to improve energy efficiency and expand the use of clean energy so that we can cut dependence on fossil fuel to no more than 60 percent. By reducing demand for energy in every category (industry, transport, household, commerce), we will improve energy efficiency by 2.6 percent every year until 2030. By that time, renewable energy will account for 11.5 percent of Korea’s total energy consumption and nuclear energy will account for 27.8 percent. Development of the green industries will transform Korea’s industrial structure into one that is less energy intensive.
The government said it will set aside 700 million won from MKE and an additional 700 million won from the Small and Medium Business Administration to support the Commission of Shared Growth for Large and Small Companies. What other steps are you taking to support SMEs?
Like most countries, Korea has a variety of support policies for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs). These include tax incentives, policy funding support, technology development support and a public procurement program.
The global financial crisis hit SMEs especially hard. Accordingly, the Korean government worked to overcome the financial crisis through pre-emptive measures such as massive injections of liquidity for SMEs (e.g., extending maturity dates for 160 trillion won worth of SME loans; 37 trillion won worth of additional loan guarantees; a higher guarantee rate of up to 100 percent).
Going forward, the government plans to revise its SME support policies to better reflect the needs of the self-employed, small traders and small enterprises and to ensure that SMEs develop and grow into stronger companies. At the same time, the government will adhere to the principles of “support and nurture” and “free competition” to encourage the phased development of promising SMEs into large companies.

Interview: Mr. Robert Gilchrist, Founder & CEO, Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP

2011-06-16T11:45:00.000+09:00

Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP, now in it’s 27th year, specialises in the acquisition and management of commercial property throughout the UK and continental Europe on behalf of over 220 major institutional clients from around the globe. On behalf of single-client accounts, investment is made either directly into property assets or, indirectly, through the group’s series of tax-efficient, co-mingled investment funds.
Originally established in 1984 as MIM Property Services, Rockspring was one of the first UK-based property managers to specialise in European investment. Working exclusively with institutional investors, the business grew quickly, and in 1993, was bought by Prudential Financial of the USA and became PRICOA Property Investment Management. Following an MBO in 2004, Rockspring Property Investment Managers, as it is known today, was formed. Fully independent and 100% owned by its Partners and employees, Rockspring is headquartered in London with its own network of local investment and asset management offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Madrid, Paris and Helsinki. In addition, Rockspring manages client support and services operations via dedicated offices in America and Australia and is in process of opening one Seoul.
Rockspring offers its clients a diverse range of products, from region-wide, pan-European funds to single country and sector specific specialist vehicles. These include the Rockspring Hanover Property Unit Trust, the Rockspring PanEuropean Property Limited Partnership, RockspringTransEuropean II, III, IV & V, The Industrial Trust, Retail Plus, The Rockspring German Box Fund, The Rockspring Portuguese Property Partnership, Rockspring Total Europe, Rockspring UK Value Fund and single client mandates. With property assets currently located in the UK and 12 other European countries, the firm today is one of Europe’s leading property investment managers.
Robert Gilchrist has been with Rockspring for over 23 years and has been active in the European property markets since 1983. After graduating from Cambridge University, he qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and joined Rockspring in 1987. He has been the architect of much of the firm’s significant growth, in particular, the development and launch of new fund products. The first of these was the launch, in 1991, of TransEuropean 1 and the subsequent management of this series of closed-ended funds – TransEuropean V is currently being marketed. In 1998, he was appointed Managing Director. In 2004, alongside Mr. Richard Plummer, the Chairman, he led the successful MBO from Prudential Financial, and was appointed Chief Executive. He has played a leading role in growing Rockspring into one of the UK's leading Europe-wide property investment managers and he continues to be closely involved in new business and overseeing the fulfillment of Europe-wide investment strategies.
Rockspring prides itself on its client-focused approach. “As all of our investment products are funded entirely by equity sourced from third-party, international, blue-chip, institutional clients, everything we do is based on our clear understanding of investors’ needs and ambitions. We invest the time getting to know them and we apply our exceptionally experienced market knowledge and independent status to find solutions that are the ideal fit. It’s an approach that has been proven in every corner of the commercial property market and enabled us to build enduring relationships with leading real estate investors from around the globe,” said Mr Gilchrist.
The recent awards received by the company recognize Rockspring’s enduring commitment to generating value through real estate for its international blue-chip client base. They include ‘Europe Firm of the Year’ - Global PERE Awards 2010, ‘Property Fund Manager of the Year’ – Financial News / Dow Jones Awards for Excellence 2010 and ‘Property Manager of the Year’ - Global Pensions Awards 2011. Mr Gilchrist, commented, “We have spent more than 25 years finding new and innovative ways to create value for our clients. Today, we are fully independent in both structure and spirit and, with a Europe-wide network of property professionals, we work in partnership with our clients to create unique, performance-orientated European property investment vehicles.”
Mr. Gilchrist noted that Rockspring frequently works with global investors looking to invest for the first time in Europe. “It really does help having an experienced local presence throughout Europe.” comments Gilchrist. “Our network of offices across Europe combined with our long history and knowledge of its markets puts us in an exceptional position to advise our clients. For investors that are not inclined towards our tax-efficient co-mingled investment funds, we can assist them co-invest directly in hand-picked assets with other like minded investors in Europe.”
Whilst few investors escaped the global melt down, Rockspring have fared better than many of their competitors. Their core / core plus investment approach combined with their consistent track record and client-centric focus meant investors not only stuck by them, many committed new capital – during 2010 Rockspring closed their UK Value fund with £700m. In 2010 Rockspring invested €1.2 billion across Europe and to 31st March 2011 has seen investments totalling €380m. Notable recent transactions include:
88 Wood Street – acquisition of an iconic, landmark tower building at in the heart of the City of London for £183 million on behalf of a separate client mandate (November 2009)
O’Parinor Shopping Centre, Paris – acquisition of a 51% stake for €223 million on behalf of a separate client mandate (August 2010)
Ferio Shopping Centre, Konin, Poland – acquisition of a retail park for €47m on behalf of the TransEuropean Property Limited Partnership IV (Dec 2010)
The Feulner Portfolio – acquisition of three retail warehouse properties in Neuss, Kassel and the Emspark in Leer, West Germany purchased off-market from a private investor for a total consideration of €62.2 million on behalf of the Rockspring German Retail Box Fund (April 2011)
Speaking on the economic situation in Europe, Mr. Gilchrist noted that the debt crisis has affected everybody around the world in varying degrees. This has resulted in recession in many countries, but has also led to varying responses by national governments. In Europe, there continue to be large regional differences. Greece continues to experience recession, while the Spanish and Portuguese economies have been experienced flat growth. Individual governments are using differing approaches to reduce budget deficits, he noted. This crisis halted the incessant rise in property values that took place from 2003 to 2008, driven as much by the widespread availability of cheap debt as a lack of seasoned understanding of real estate fundamentals.
“We are seeing a steady recovery in economic prospects and confidence in markets. Today a lot of focus on significant fallout has been on Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece. They continue to highlight some of the ongoing issues in the European periphery.” said Gilchrist.
However, the recession has not resulted in a significant amount of distressed assets coming onto the market. For instance, in UK there was a peak-to-trough fall in asset values of around 40 percent, but the period of decline was swift and subsequently experienced an equally fast recovery.
“Distress will come about largely as a consequence of the behaviour and reaction of the banks. There is a lot of talk about 2008-9 being one of worst recessions but in my experience 1990-93 was actually worse. The problem then was that a construction boom coincided with recession and oversupply in real estate was much greater then,” he said. The banks, having learnt their lesson, are choosing to hold on to assets today and working through problems before selling them in a steady and unforced manner.
In this context he noted that Korean investors who are selectively looking for landmark assets in UK and Paris are doing so at the right time. “The real estate fundamentals are better. While people may be scared of lower cap rates today, they actually reflect significant rental growth expectations. Their timing is perfectly reasonable and making investments today is safe.”
Typically non-EU investors look at London and it makes sense. London sits alongside New York, Sydney and Tokyo as a global city. It is very much on the radar screen, with Paris a strong second. More adventurous investors may be looking at Germany, Spain or other smaller cities in Europe, but they are in a much smaller proportion.
“One of the reasons I am extremely positive about prospects for investment and ownership in London and Paris is because we are in the middle of the globalisation of everything. Looking back at the London market in 90’s there were only a couple of Japanese, American and European investors. The predominant ownership was by UK institutions. Since then, the market has changed dramatically. Now there are Koreans, Australians, Canadians, Russians and Malaysians to name a few. This is not going to stop.”
In terms of core assets and core market, there is, inevitably, only a limited supply and so competition can be quite intense for investments in the core sectors.
He noted that there isn’t just one ‘right’ answer to the question of how the investors should approach the UK market - either directly or through co-investment club deals, but what is absolutely essential, for any investor that is considering investing globally, is the necessity of access to local expertise before even trying to negotiate and acquire an asset.
“Such investors have to work with a partner in Europe who can provide access to unbiased legal, tax and other structuring requirements in order to fully understand the implications of ownership and returns they can achieve. Once they understand this, then they can start to look at specific transaction opportunities, because by then they know the implications of investing in a particular market,” he said.

Interview: Mr. Hyun In-taek, Minister of Unification

2011-05-23T10:23:00.000+09:00

On May 9th, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made a surprising offer by inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to Seoul for an international nuclear summit next year with U.S. President Barack Obama and dozens of world leaders if Pyongyang makes a firm commitment to give up its atomic programs.
The proposal, if realized and followed through by Pyongyang, could theoretically lead to the North's reclusive leader attending an international summit with foreign leaders for the first time ever, as well as to a rare summit between leaders of the two Koreas.
The proposal was seen as aimed at pressuring Pyongyang to make a strategic choice to give up nuclear ambitions. It was also believed to be aimed at helping break the deadlock in inter-Korean relations, frayed badly after the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
President Lee's offer came as South Korea has increased pressure on North Korea to take concrete steps to demonstrate its denuclearization commitment before opening the six-party nuclear talks. The negotiations have been stalled since December 2008 due to Pyongyang's boycott and tensions over the North's deadly attacks on the South last year.
With tensions on the peninsula rising in recent months, we sought the views of Mr. Hyun In-taek, Minister of Unification, on the government’s policy towards the North and the way ahead.

Could you elaborate on the South Korean government policy towards unification and relations with the North, especially in light of the recent tension between both sides?
Basically, the South Korean government works to improve inter-Korean relations, build peace on the Korean peninsula and, ultimately, achieve a peaceful and gradual reunification of the Korean peninsula. We aim to achieve a Korean unity by building a peace, economic, and national community between the two Koreas. Since North Korea’s nuclear armament is the most pressing issue facing the Korean peninsula, we believe that building a peace community by denuclearizing North Korea should be the first step in our endeavours.
To this end, the Lee Myung-bak administration has proposed the “Vision 3000: Denuclearization and Openness” initiative. The initiative suggests that once North Korea decides to abandon its nuclear program, the South Korean government, together with the international community, will provide large-scale economic assistance to help North Korean economy make a substantial leap forward. In pursuing such a policy, the administration has maintained a “principled” approach by promoting sound inter-Korean relations based on mutual respect between the two Koreas and upholding such universal values as humanitarianism.
Despite our efforts, however, North Korea has continued to raise tensions on the Korean peninsula during the past three years with its brutal provocations, including the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at Mt. Geumgang in July 2008 and second nuclear test in May 2009, not to mention a torpedo attack on the Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last year.
To make a substantial improvement in inter-Korean relations, we believe that, more than anything else, North Korea must change its provocative attitude. In this regard, we have urged North Korea to take responsible measures regarding the two attacks it made last year, promise non-recurrence of such provocations in the future, and hold inter-Korean talks on the nuclear issue to confirm its sincere commitment to denuclearization.

What is your opinion of the economic cooperation programs like Gaeseong? What has been the progress of these ventures and do you think they should continue?
It has been already eight years since the two Koreas embarked on the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC) in June 2003. The Complex has grown significantly over a short period of time. Even despite North Korea’s provocations last year, the South Korean government has sustained the Complex.
The number of South Korean companies operating in the GIC currently is 122, a 30% increase from three years ago. Although new investment in the Complex has remained restricted since the Lee Myong-bak administration suspended interactions with North Korea following North Korea’s attack on the South Korean corvette Cheonan, most South Korean companies in the GIC have been doing their business as usual. Last January, for example, the total production in the Complex reached US$ 31 million, recording an all-time high on a monthly basis.
Yet, if we are to make the GIC an industrial complex with a truly global standard, several key issues must be cleared. The most important of all is to allow South Korean workers commute more freely to the Complex. In this regard, we have urged the North many times to remove inconvenience related to so-called the “3C” issues--border crossing, communication, and customs clearance. Another issue arises from the very fact that the GIC is located in North Korea. This makes the Complex vulnerable to the ups and downs in general inter-Korean relations, which, in turn, may affect the investment climate. Moreover, the personal safety of our workers has yet to be fully guaranteed.
Nevertheless, as long as the situation does not deteriorate drastically due to such factors as military provocations by North Korea, the South Korean government is willing to maintain and even support steady growth of the Complex. While placing our highest priority on the personal safety of South Korean citizens working in the Complex, we will keep addressing the need for institutionalization to improve procedures for entry and stay for the GIC workers.

Early last month, we understand that North Korea jammed GPS signals and also resorted to hacking of many government websites. Given this, how well prepared is the Korean government to tackle North Korea’s cyber warfare capabilities?
The disruptive electronic waves that jammed our GPS signals last March seems to have originated from several regions in North Korea, including Haeju and Gaeseong. In response to such threats, the South Korean government has reinforced its security and monitoring system in order to prevent additional cyber attacks by North Korea. We have also reorganized and expanded relevant government agencies and increased cooperation among the government, military, and private sector.
South Korea certainly has technologies to counter North Korea’s cyber warfare. With capabilities far surpassing those of North Korea, we can and will properly counter any cyber threats from North Korea in the future.

The six party nuclear talks have stalled for some time now. When do you foresee the next talks taking place, and what are the main challenges on this front?
These days people often ask whether the Six-Party Talks will be resumed and, if so, when. I think, however, a more relevant question should be how productive the talks would be when they are resumed. When resumed this time, the Six-Party Talks should result in a concrete contribution to the denuclearization of North Korea. They should not be the “talks for talks’ sake.” To avoid it, North Korea must come to the table with a serious and sincere commitment to denuclearization.
North Korea has a long record of violating agreements, including the 1994 Geneva accord and the September 19 joint statement reached under the six-party framework. This is exactly why South Korea and the rest of the international community have continuously urged the North to prove its sincere commitment to denuclearization through actions, not just words.
The outcome of the talks is more important than whether the talks would be resumed or when they would. In this regard, I would like to stress once again that the North must abandon its nuclear ambition. To induce such a change in North Korean attitude, we must work with the international community.

Interviews: Mr. Pierre Vaquier, Chief Executive Officer, AXA Real Estate & Mr. Frank Khoo, Global Head of Asia

2011-04-27T17:07:00.000+09:00

The AXA Group has been managing real estate portfolios for over 30 years. The different real estate units were consolidated with the strategic decision in 1999 to create AXA Real Estate Investment Managers. This was done so to complete the consolidation
of AXA’s real estate management capabilities throughout Europe.
At the same time, it was considered that there was a significant opportunity to leverage this infrastructure, in order to become a leading panEuropean real estate investment manager offering services to both external institutional investors as well as existing AXA clients.
Since 2006, AXA Real Estate Investment Managers has expanded its presence in Asia with offices in Tokyo and Singapore. In 2010, AXA Real Estate Investment Managers
became AXA Real Estate and expanded its global footprint with the creation of a capital raising team based in the United States.
As noted by Mr. Frank Khoo, Global Head of Asia, AXA Real Estate, today, the company is the world’s second largest real estate fund and asset manager, and the largest in Europe, with €40 billion of assets under management. It has over 120 external institutional clients spread across the world, in addition to managing funds for around 10 AXA insurance companies.
“With 500 real estate people operating in 22 countries, AXA Real Estate's competitive advantage stems from its global fund management expertise combined with extensive on-the-ground deal sourcing, asset management and development execution capabilities,” he said.
The company structures and actively manages investment products, seeking wide-ranging opportunities along the risk spectrum to deliver targeted returns commensurate with clients' risk profiles, through a variety of investment strategies.
These range from core to opportunistic, country-specific to geographically diversified, sector-specific to multi-sector, with the capacity to invest at all levels of the capital structure.”
“Our core business is real estate fund, asset, and development management. We have extensive local expertise in all of the major property types. In addition, AXA Real Estate offers specialist local expertise in areas such as transaction execution, development, asset and project management, tax, legal, accounting, risk management and compliance.”
Mr. Khoo joined the company in 2008 to help the company expand its operation in Asia. Appointed as Global Head of Asia, based in Singapore, he coordinates the development of the company’s investment and asset management activities in the region.
He also manages the development of investment platforms in Japan and has set up a local presence in other parts of the region which are important to AXA Real Esate’s strategy. He has contributed to the launch of Asian investment funds to develop its asset base in Asia on behalf of its clients.
With over 15 years in the investment industry, he has extensive experience in private equity and real estate and a deep knowledge of all the Asian markets. His expertise in deal sourcing and execution as well as fund launches have contributed widely to the company’s ambitions to become a major player in the Pan-Asian real estate investment industry.
In addition, Mr. Khoo has also been appointed as Co-Chairman of the EUCCK Real Estate Committee and will be coordinating its activities, seeking to give is wider exposure in Singapore and other Asian markets.
Speaking on this new role with the chamber, he noted that the Committee has already established itself as one of the premier platforms for Real Estate professionals in the region, having organized highly reputed international conferences and meetings. As Co-Chairman, he hopes to contribute towards expanding its activities and raising its profile even more.
Speaking on the priorities for AXA Real Estate, he noted that global growth remains a key priority and AXA Real Estate is currently expanding its presence in both the US and Asia, most recently with the launch of its US platform last year.
He also noted that the company signed an agreement with The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co Ltd (STB), one of the largest trust banks in Japan, formalizing plans to jointly set up a new investment fund for Japanese real estate.
“Over the past three years, we have substantially expanded our operations across the Asia region, establishing the new Asian headquarters in Singapore, announcing a memorandum of understanding with China’s Ping An Trust to co-invest in developing residential projects in China and also the deal with STB.”
These developments were the next step in AXA Real Estate’s plans to offer a diversified range of Asian real estate opportunities to institutional investors, in complement to the firms established European capabilities, he said.
“We already had an existing team on ground in Japan, but we chose to tie up with Sumitomo as we feel that this tie up will greatly enhance our execution ability in Tokyo both from the aspect of deal sourcing and asset management.”
There is no doubt that investors are now recognising that the pace of growth in the Asian property market is likely to outpace that of both the US and Europe. As such, they are increasingly prepared to consider exposure to the region when building up a balanced global strategy, he added.
He said that in general there was a ‘three-tier’ approach emerging in terms of investors' attitude. One for countries like Japan, which as the most mature Asian market, offers investors core investment characteristics especially on good quality commercial assets. The next for ‘semi-developed’ markets like Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, while the last for the emerging Asian markets like China and India.
The emerging markets are more opportunistic and therefore are more suited to those investors who are prepared to accept a slightly higher risk profile.
“Asia is becoming a strategic destination for the real-estate investor and we want to support our group and third party client efforts in diversification and creation of value,” he
said.
In a separate interview, Mr. Pierre Vaquier, Chief Executive Officer, AXA Real Estate, who was in Seoul to meet with potential investor partners noted that while Korea is an important market for the company, it is not an immediate priority.
“ We want to expand our investments in Asia, are considering Korea for medium term exposure. Although a very mature market, it is still dominated by domestic players. It is only recently that the foreign investors have started coming it. We look at it as a key investment market in the long term,” he said.
When the company invests in a new territory, they consider it very important to have local expertise. While in Europe they have setup their own local teams, in Asia, the strategy is to have both a local team and a local partner. For example the company has teamed up with a local partner in China.
As for the emerging BRICs, he noted that they have a huge potential, and each country has its own advantages, although Russia does not have the characteristics of other emerging markets and is energy driven. The outlook for China, India and Brazil is very positive.
“The only country where we have no strategy is South Africa, as it is a market of its own, and we have to be very cautious.”
Mr. Vaquier said the main challenges the company faces in new markets is to understand local characteristics and have a secure environment to do business.
“We need to be careful with volatility of markets, and have to be very careful with the business cycles. Getting a good local partner is important as also investing in real estate asset classes which are backed by growth model.” support case
With regard to the European economy which has been hit by the debt crisis in Ireland, Greece and Portugal, he said AXA is “cautiously positive” that the recovery will take place soon.
“ The worst is behind us, and many private companies are expanding again. The worries on the debt are not going to disappear overnight, and will take a few years. But it will definitely recover.”
While the citizens of many of the countries have been protesting the austerity measures that have been implemented in these countries, he noted that the combination of higher taxes and slower consumption is painful, but there are not much choices left.
“The governments have to take into account all factors. The people are critical not of the measures, but how it is being implemented,” he said.
Speaking on the impact of the Japanese tsunami on the company’s business, he noted that although it is too early to say, it will likely not have much of an impact. The disaster has shown that earthquake regulations have been effective in limiting the damage. While the economy may be effected in the short term, the reconstruction efforts will help the economy grow again.
Since AXA is involved in life insurance and not in property/causality insurance, there will be no impact on the parent company, he said.

Interview: Mr. Lee Hyun-dong, Commissioner, National Tax Service

2011-04-19T11:48:00.000+09:00

Last year, Korea marked its highest level in foreign direct investments since the financial crisis, which is close to $12.8 billion, despite of instability in the financial market and the geopolitical security crisis. Korea also achieved the growth rate of 6.1% last year thanks to foreign investment, even amid a global trend of a decline in foreign direct investments.
Though the number of foreign and foreign invested companies in the Korean market takes up only 2%, their contributions to Korean tax revenue is significant, reaching up to 18% of the national revenue.
At the pan-governmental level, Korea is making every effort to attract foreign investment. Starting this year, the National Tax Service started issuing statements in English to help non-Korean speakers. Taxpayers are also now able to choose an English-language option for statements from as far back as the 2006 fiscal year. Previously, taxpayers paid fees to translate and notarize financial statements, which were only available in Korean.
Beginning June 24, the agency will also issue statements via its Web site (www.hometax.go.kr). The tax agency will open an English-language Web page to improve services for foreigners and foreign companies seeking to verify documents. These are just some of the proactive steps that the agency is taking under Commissioner Lee Hyun-dong. In an interview, he explains more:

In your view, what is currently the most important challenges and objectives of National Tax Service?
The reality faced by National Tax Service in 2011 is characterized by challenges of weakened tax base, more aggressive tax evasions and opportunities such as strengthened trust for tax administration, more transparent society and international cooperation among tax authorities.
Under these circumstances, National Tax Service's objective for this year is "fair and trustworthy tax administration respecting our clients" so that it can be one of the world's best tax authorities.
To achieve this goal, we will first make efforts to create a social environment in which honest tax payers are truly respected. We'll lend support so that sincere small businesses won't have to worry about how to pay tax. We'll also minimize the amount of notices reminding them of reporting income so that everyone can pay tax in an autonomous manner. Moreover, those who continue to pay tax honestly will be exempt from tax investigations or benefit from simplified investigations. To help Korean businesses operating overseas, we'll strategically consider the preliminary approval of previous prices and a mutual agreement between Korea and the country where the Korean business is run. If necessary, we'll strengthen the bilateral cooperative network through, for example, the national tax service commissioners' meetings.
Second, we'll strengthen our system preventing tax evasion by further encouraging citizens to pay tax honestly. Doing this will require us to clearly identify tax evasion cases and to select those subject to tax investigation in a rational way. Moreover, to eradicate new types of tax evasion based on financial derivatives or e-commerce, we'll develop and support investigation techniques at the Forensic & Anti Tax-evasion Center (FAC) which was established this February. In addition, we'll continue to ensure transparent transactions by firmly establishing the system of e-tax invoice and by strengthening the monitoring of business types eligible for issuing cash receipts.
Third, we'll continue our efforts to find hidden sources of taxation. A case in point is prevention of offshore tax evasion. Last year, we worked hard on developing the infrastructure designed to prevent offshore tax evasion. Base on this infrastructure, we'll focus on blocking such evasion. Meanwhile, we'll try to strengthen the tax base by cracking down on those who don't respect the basic tax order. Examples of such cases that are to be eradicated would be politicians who violate law to evade tax, those who avoid paying overdue taxes, those who carry out transactions without issuing tax invoices and those who don't register their business.
Are there any measures in place designed to help foreign investors pay tax easily in Korea?
What is the most necessary for a business operating overseas would be a transparent and predictable tax code and a strong taxation system.
To enhance the transparency and predictability of taxation, we make efforts to improve our current Q & A system to give accurate answers more promptly. Moreover, we introduced a system meant to help interpretation of the tax law in 2008. This system allows tax payers to ask more specific questions about their everyday tax paying practices and to receive applicable answers from National Tax Service.
Furthermore, National Tax Service reached "gentleman's agreements" with businesses. This agreement allows businesses to communicate their tax-related issues to the Service whose special team answers their questions in real time. Up until last year, we conducted a pilot project to test this system on 15 businesses and this year, the Service signed this agreement with 70 businesses. The companies that sincerely respect the clauses of the agreement will be exempt from the regular tax investigation.
This agreement enables the businesses to predict their tax amount before reporting their revenue and it also removes unnecessary uncertainties regarding taxation. The agreement is thus expected to contribute to enhancing the transparency of business management, a factor that is particularly emphasized these days.
Second, there are many easy ways to report income and pay tax. Our Hometax-service, which allows tax payers to report their income and pay tax without visiting the tax office, would be one of the best services in the world. More than 96% of the corporate tax is reported and payed through this service. In addition to reporting and paying tax, other major affairs such as business registration may also be done online thanks to the "Paperless-e" office whose functions have been expanded.
National Tax Service has recently revealed its willingness to eradicate offshore tax evasion. Could you specify?
Offshore tax evasion triggers unfair taxation in that such tax payers mostly possess a great amount of income and property and in that they give unnecessary tax burdens to honest tax payers. Moreover, illegal capital flight preceding such evasion also chips away domestic consumption and investment resources, damaging the domestic economy. That is why such evasion needs to be eradicated.
In an attempt to alleviate their financial deficit and to secure tax revenues in the post-recession era, countries around the world engage in a war to fight against such evasion mainly by creating new domestic systems and by allocating more budget. International cooperation is also strengthened in this matter in the framework of the OECD or G20. Meanwhile, countries traditionally known as tax havens have recently agreed to ensure their financial transparency, contributing to the creation of an international environment favorable for the eradication of offshore tax evasion.
Since last year, National Tax Service has also concentrated on eradicating such evasion. This endeavor has drawn attention not only form the Korean media and National Assembly but also from all Korean citizens who have actively supported us.
Last year, we focused on establishing a system designed to respond to offshore tax evasion. To be more specific, we adopted a system which requires those who have more than one billion won in the account of an overseas financial institution to report the transactions of the account. We also created an organization specializing in dealing with such evasion and secured a budget to eradicate such practices. These are our tangible results.
This year, we'll redouble our efforts to secure a tax revenue of at least one trillion won in the tax investigation on offshore tax evasion. To do so, we have increased the number of those who participate in this investigation and only highly competent people can be the members of our investigation team. In addition, our agents will be dispatched to the cities where tax evasion is the most frequent or to those that are included in the itinerary in order to ensure onsite data collection. Moreover, we'll strengthen the simultaneous tax investigation with other countries including the United States, while making the best use of the simultaneous information exchange agreements signed with tax havens, in an attempt to find domestic property that is hidden overseas.
Our biggest priority for now would be the successful implementation of the overseas account report system which was launched this year.
Foreigners who work for foreign companies in Korea live in the country according to the domestic tax code but if they lived in Korea for less than five years over the last ten years, they don't have to report their income.
Many SMEs are worried about frequent tax investigations. Do you have any solution to ease their concerns regarding such investigations?
In Korea, the percentage of SMEs that undergo tax investigation is lower than that of large businesses. As of 2009, only 0.83% of Korean SMEs were subject to such investigation. It is thus difficult to say that Korean SMEs undergo frequent tax investigation.
Nevertheless, National Tax Service is making administrative efforts to minimize SMEs' burden when they become subject to such investigation.
First and foremost, if a relatively honest SME has to undergo an investigation, the investigation period becomes shorter and simpler. Such "simplified tax investigation" is focused on management consulting in the area of accounting and tax, rather than on taxation itself.
As for very small businesses which don't have its own office or whose office is too small, their representatives may also visit the investigation authorities to undergo investigation. This "out-of-office investigation system" enables such businesses to save their taxation-related expenses.
Furthermore, to remove the uncertainties faced by tax payers before undergoing such investigation, we provide them with an orientation course before the investigation and explain the process during the investigation period. At the end of the investigation, a special day is in place to answer the tax payer's questions.
Lastly, if an investigation infringes on the tax payer's rights, he or she can ask a "tax payer protection agent" for help. Through this system, we're doing our best to make sure that each tax payer's rights are protected.
Although it is true that the measures mentioned above greatly help small businesses alleviate their economic or psychological burdens, what is more important would be the mutual trust between National Tax Service and tax payers. Such trust can be formed when both respect the mutually agreed-upon rules. To win trust from Korean citizens, National Tax Service will conduct tax investigation based on the laws and rules and it will do its best to prevent any misunderstanding that may arise from its investigation.

Interview: Joyce Lo, Associate Director – Head of Corporate & Investor Strategy, Sniper Capital

2011-04-15T10:30:00.000+09:00

Sniper Capital was established in 2004 to capitalize on the many property development and investment opportunities offered by Macau’s burgeoning economy. Since then its business has grown considerably.
Today the company employs 25 dedicated professionals working on a portfolio that has expanded beyond Macau's city limits to include the Western Pearl River Region of Southern China.
Sniper Capital utlises a broad array of in-house capabilities to efficiently execute every aspect of the investment and development cycle. Its dedicated focus on research and acquisitions, project development, asset management, fund administration, capital raising and investor communications allows the company to act both independently and swiftly to maximise returns on each project.Joyce Lo, Associate Director – Head of Corporate & Investor Strategy, Sniper Capital, spoke to us about the company’s plans as well as prospects for the Macau market.

Could you give us some background of your company and your major projects?
Sniper Capital Limited is an independent property investment manager specialising in property investment and development in niche and undervalued markets. Today, the firm manages two funds – the private closed-end South China Sniper Fund (SCSF) and London Stock Exchange Main Board listed Macau Property Opportunities Fund (MPO) – with combined assets of $350 million.
MPO is an opportunistic investment fund that focuses on delivering long term returns from the investment and development of high quality properties in Macau and China’s Pearl River Delta. The portfolio properties are generally of medium to larger sizes. SCSF acquires niche, small sized properties in districts which have yet to reach their full potential, and creates value through the amalgamation, redevelopment and repositioning of these properties into retail and food and beverage outlets.
Since November 2010, Sniper Capital has begun officially marketing the Macau Sniper Fund, a $100 million private fund that adopts a strategy similar to SCSF. With over seven years of experience operating in the Macau and Southern China property markets, Sniper Capital has established a strong track record in sourcing, planning and redevelopment, including working with sensitive heritage sites and old buildings. Recently, Sniper Capital has also started leveraging its sourcing and acquisitions expertise and extensive investor reach to build an investment advisory business.
Sniper Capital’s in-house expertise covers every aspect of the investment and development cycle, including research, site acquisition, project development, asset management, investor relations and finance.
Within MPO, major portfolio residential projects include The Waterside (luxury residential leasing) – Tower Six of One Central Residences, the most prestigious residential project in Macau – and The Fountainside (low density residential development) – 42 apartments catering to middle- and upper-income locals. Other key assets include a retail development in Senado Square– located in the heart of Macau’s popular tourist and shopping district – and APAC Logistics Centre (warehousing and logistics) – close to the recently-opened Guangzhou-Zhuhai rail network and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, currently under construction.
We have also recently entered into an agreement with a local Macau developer to sell our Rua do Laboratório project (entry level residential) for $41 million, representing a net return on investment of 84%, upon the sale completion expected in April 2011.
On the private funds side, the Group is involved in a number of non-gaming destination creation projects through the conversion of older, Portuguese-colonial style buildings into retail outlets that can be leased to attractive bars, restaurants, and niche shopping designed for the enjoyment of both locals and tourists. These new landmarks are rapidly becoming places of choice for people who want to experience the vibrancy of the new Macau as well as the rich 500-year history that the territory’s historic areas have to offer. These unique projects, which have been conceived in conjunction with Macau's dedicated Heritage Department, are in complete contrast to the cutting edge designs of the nearby casino hotel resort projects.

Why are you focusing on the Macau market and what are the investment opportunities?
The firm’s principals, Tom Ashworth and Martin Tacon were attracted to Macau’s potential after its 1999 handover from Portugal to China, and the local administration’s decision soon after to break the 40-year gaming monopoly held by Stanley Ho and allow foreign casino groups to open resorts. Once a sleepy fishing village, Macau is today by far the world’s largest gaming market, generating $25 billion in casino revenues and welcoming 25 million visitors a year.
We continue to believe that Macau remains in the early stages of a period of sustained economic growth. A new round of mega resort expansion in Cotai, coupled with ambitious infrastructure projects such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, PRD inter-city rail network and Macau Light Rail Transit system all point to an increasingly dynamic and rapidly growing economy. Macau remains well positioned to benefit from the opportunities that will arise as a result.
Non gaming Retail and Food & Beverage
Non-gaming currently accounts for less than 20% of Macau visitors’ expenditure. The heavy focus on Macau casino projects has left Macau with a significantly underdeveloped non-gaming entertainment and leisure market. Underscored by the government’s commitment to diversify the economy, Sniper Capital expects the proportion of non-gaming revenues to increase exponentially in the coming years. Looking at the evolution of Las Vegas – where half of visitor expenditure today is allocated to non-gaming activities – we believe there is a great deal of potential upside by focusing on non-gaming real estate in Macau.
Residential
The entry of the international casino and resorts has lifted the benchmark for an improved standard of living in Macau. There is an increasing demand for high quality housing in prime locations from both expatriates and the more affluent locals looking to upgrade. Unemployment in Macau has dropped to a historical low of 2.7% while median monthly incomes are on the rise. There are also favourable government initiatives that spur demand for affordable accommodation from first time local buyers. Macau’s residential property market – which rebounded strongly post the financial crisis – is still exhibiting good value. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, capital values for the high end residential market rose by 9.6% in 2010. The modest upturn in Macau’s residential property market, compared to Hong Kong and other regional markets, is expected to continue benefitting from powerful local drivers and high levels of affordability.
Logistics
The construction of the $11 billion Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will create a critical transportation link between western and eastern Pearl River Delta (PRD). When completed in 2016, travelling time between Hong Kong and Zhuhai will be reduced to a mere 30 minutes. To capitalise on increasing opportunities arising from the rapid economic integration of the PRD region, MPO is developing APAC Logistics Centre – a state of the art warehousing and logistics facility in Zhuhai.

What are the major differences between Macau and other Asian countries?
Macau, the only gaming jurisdiction in China, has since 2006 replaced Las Vegas as the largest gaming market in the world by gaming revenues, and are now almost double that of Nevada and New Jersey combined. Figures show that one of Macau’s casino groups – SJM – has revenues that exceed those of the entire Las Vegas strip.
CLSA expects Macau’s nearest rival, Singapore, to hit gaming revenues of $6.5 billion this year, on par with that of Las Vegas, but behind Macau at $30 billion. By 2012, Singapore is expected to rake in $8.1 billion, ahead of Las Vegas at $6.8 billion but still a fraction of Macau’s forecasted $34.7 billion.
Underpinned by strong fundamentals, Macau is set to be Asia’s fastest growing economy, at an estimated growth rate of 30% in 2010. With less than 30 square kilometre of land, Macau has the highest population density at 18,835 per sq km as well as one of the highest GDP per capita of $48,000 in Asia.
Aside from outstanding economic fundamentals, Macau, the oldest European colony in East Asia and the most recently relinquished colony in the world, boasts almost 500 years of rich Portuguese heritage. The government has established an official heritage department to preserve the unique blend of Chinese & European in architecture. The fusion of these cultures is also prevalent in the cuisine and the population.
In addition, Macau is the only place in China that has freehold land, although there is not necessarily a price differential between leasehold and freehold.

What differentiates Sniper Capital from other Boutique houses?
Our independence and minimal bureaucracy make us nimble and innovative. Our culture is highly entrepreneurial which encourages lateral thinking and attracts self-driven personnel.
As our name suggests, we are highly focused on certain markets and segments. We are attracted to “below the radar” properties that are often overlooked by larger developers. Moreover, we have the technical knowledge and capability in working with heritage sites. At this point, we are the only major foreign fund manager that is established and continue to grow in Macau. We believe in having local presence with our team developing a vast network of proven and established contacts in the markets in which we are operating. This fuels our ability to source, acquire and manage quality investment opportunities with strong value propositions.
In addition, we possess excellent in-house resources to across the entire investment cycle, delivering value enhancement through planning, development, asset management and eventually through a successful exit.

Interview: Mr. Lee Soo-won, Commissioner, Korea Intellectual Property Office

2011-04-13T10:53:00.000+09:00

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has a wide range of responsibility areas, ranging from patent and trademark examinations, to administering the IP Tribunal (the first stage of invalidation actions in Korea), and launching a Special Judicial Police force last year specializing in trademark infringement enforcement actions.
Mr. Lee Soo-won has served as Commissioner of KIPO since his appointment in May 2010. Prior to his current position, he worked in the Office of the President as Secretary to the President for Economic Crisis Management.
As Commissioner of KIPO, Mr. Lee is in charge of intellectual property (IP) policies. His top priorities are to enhance the quality of patent examinations; to maximize R&D efficiency through patent strategy and open innovation; and to facilitate cooperative work-sharing with other leading IP offices.He is also endeavoring to initiate various programs of international cooperation to meet the desperate needs of the marginalized and impoverished, especially those who struggle for the basic necessities of survival.
Commissioner Lee, who brings a large amount of senior policymaking experience to the role, outlines the current policy in a number of key areas in an exclusive interview.

In recent years, KIPO has established itself firmly in the top rank of international patent offices. Could you give an indication of your priority areas for international cooperation, in particular in regards to IP5 initiatives and also KIPO's role in capacity building in developing countries?
KIPO is engaged in extensive cooperation with the other major intellectual property (IP) offices that make up the IP5 offices, namely the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The aim of IP5 cooperation is to raise the efficiency of patent examinations and administration through work-sharing among the five leading offices. This type of cooperation helps improve the timeliness and quality of patent examination services.
The IP5 offices are collaborating on ten foundation projects. The projects involve three working groups on patent classification, IT supported business processes, and patent examination policy. KIPO leads two of the foundation projects: the Common Training Policy Project and the Mutual Machine Translation Project. The fourth IP5 heads meeting will be held in Japan in April 2011. It will be an opportunity to check the progress of the foundation projects and to discuss plans for further cooperation in the future.
KIPO is also actively engaged in bilateral cooperation. We had more than 30 bilateral meetings with other IP offices in 2010 and broadened our exchanges with European countries. In January we had a heads meeting and discussed bilateral activities with the EPO. And in February we had another heads meeting with the Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom (UKIPO). At the latter meeting we discussed an ongoing mutual benchmarking exercise to enhance examination quality and productivity. I believe the project with the UKIPO is indicative of our world-class examination capabilities.
In March 2010, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office on IP protection. And in July we began implementing a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. This project enables each office to conduct accelerated examinations by utilizing the examination results of the other office. KIPO is also endeavoring to strengthen cooperative ties with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM). These efforts are expected to come to fruition in due course.
Once a least developed country, Korea now has the fourth largest number of patent applications. This transformation has motivated us to help developing and least developed countries (LDCs) achieve economic progress through the utilization of IP. In 2004, we established the Korea Funds-in-Trust at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to help enhance the IP capabilities and raise IP awareness in developing countries and LDCs. To date, 69 countries have benefited from the 45 projects under this scheme.
Recently we embarked on a project to provide appropriate technology to least developed countries. We also assist developing countries to create local brands so that they can sell their quality products at adequate prices. Last year, for example, we disseminated appropriate technology to Chad to help locals produce sugarcane charcoal and dried mangoes. And we are now planning to distribute sand brick technology to Nepal. Last year we also assisted in the branding of Chadian dried mangoes and, in 2009 we helped the YMCA with the branding of East Timorese coffee that was imported and sold under the fair trade movement. This year we will collaborate with APEC on the One Village One Brand project.
One of the areas that receive a lot of attention is efforts to maintain patent quality, especially in the face of soaring global patent applications and subsequent increases in examiner workloads. Could you outline KIPO's efforts to maintain examination quality whilst keeping on top of rising application numbers?
The soaring number of patent applications means that IP offices around the world face a common challenge in terms of managing and maintaining the quality of patent examinations. As with domestic applications, KIPO is now receiving an ever-increasing number of requests from foreign enterprises for international searches under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). This trend has led to huge increases in examiner workloads.
To deal with the increasing number of applications, KIPO has developed and implemented various policies on the provision of high-quality examination services. Firstly, we have recruited additional highly qualified examiners. We have also improved our training courses on new technologies so that examiners can keep abreast of rapidly changing technologies. Moreover, we ensure the quality of our examinations by assigning skilled experts, such as directors of examination divisions and heads of examination sections, to guide and supervise the entire examination process.
The Office of the Examination Quality Assurance Officer is responsible for the overall management of the examination quality. The staff of that office evaluate and manage the quality of patent, trademark, and design examinations. They evaluate samples of examiners' work results and undertake relevant planning, diagnosis, and analysis in order to improve the overall quality of our examinations. The evaluation results help examiners avoid repeating errors and rewards are given to divisions and examiners with excellent evaluation results. The results are also included in the overall performance evaluation of each examiner.
A special team of examiners is also dedicated to ensuring the quality of PCT applications.
Trials at the Intellectual Property Tribunal is playing an important role in the resolution of IP disputes. Could you briefly explain what efforts are being made by the Intellectual Property Tribunal to improve the quality of the trials and to increase the efficiency of the trial procedures?
The Intellectual Property Tribunal, which is one of the organizations affiliated with KIPO, continually strives to ensure the quality of trials and to improve the efficiency of trial procedures. To raise the trial quality, the tribunal analyzes the grounds for the revocation of trial decisions and includes the outcome in the evaluation of trial examiners. It also provides training courses on the cases involving revocation of the trial decisions for trial examiners. Each quarter, the tribunal rewards trial examiners who have made exemplary trial decisions.
The tribunal has endeavored to have more oral proceedings and to improve the quality of those proceedings. In inter parte cases where parties are sharply opposed to each other, the tribunal conducts oral proceedings to clarify the issues and to ensure the accuracy of the relevant facts. We have also increased the number of trial courts from one to five, recruited four additional court reporters, and equipped all the trial courts with a digital deposition system. Last year the tribunal conducted 647 oral proceedings, and it expects to keep this number at an annual average of about 600.
The tribunal has produced a guide manual to standardize written trial decisions, which is accessible on our electronic trial system. The manual is expected to help trial examiners minimize the preparation time for writing trial decisions.
One major recent development in KIPO's activities has been the founding of the Special Judicial Police force, which began operations in September 2010. Can you give an overview of the role of this department, and are there any ways that the EUCCK IP Centre and its members can support KIPO in its valuable enforcement actions?
Counterfeit goods should be eradicated. They discourage investments, hinder the creation of new inventions, and have a bad effect on the economy. Prior to September 2010, there was no organization in Korea exclusively responsible for investigating and cracking down on trademark-related offenses. KIPO's crackdown activities were limited to issuing corrective warnings or taking legal action against counterfeiters.
The introduction of the Special Judicial Police Authority at KIPO in September 2010 means we are no longer a paper tiger. We can clamp down on the circulation of counterfeit goods in a more systematic and efficient manner. The new authority is the only investigatory body in Korea dedicated solely to trademark-related offenses. It endeavors to eradicate counterfeit goods through its own crackdowns and through cooperative works with other related organizations. The authority currently has offices in Seoul, Daejeon, and Busan. It has a total staff of 19.
The efforts of the Special Judicial Police Authority are focused on the online and off-line circulation of counterfeit goods. The authority has strengthened the apprehension of repeat offenders and intensified crackdowns at counterfeit hotspots. It has also enhanced cooperative ties and conducted joint crackdowns with relevant organizations, such as the Korea Customs Service, the Prosecution Service, the National Police Agency, and local governments.
The introduction of the Special Judicial Police Authority led to a tenfold increase in the number of confiscated counterfeit goods last year. Before the authority was established in September last year, the number of confiscated goods from January to August was only 2,860. By the end of the year, however, the number had soared to 28,629. This is actually a twenty times increase considering the authority had operated for only four months until then.
To more effectively crack down on counterfeit goods, we need further cooperation from trademark holders and other relevant groups. It would be helpful, for instance, if the IP Center of the EUCCK could provide the Special Judicial Police Authority with detailed information on any online and off-line distribution of counterfeit goods and offer the staff at the authority a training course on how to distinguish genuine and counterfeit goods.
Many Korean firms are now focusing on R&D investment as a route to long-term growth. In addition, Korean brands and design are becoming increasingly popular throughout Asia and the world. What efforts is KIPO making to promote innovation and creativity, in particular those of SME's?
Nowadays Korea is blessed with a world-class manufacturing industry in a variety of fields. The government and private enterprises have invested heavily in R&D to ensure this trend continues for a long time. In 2009, R&D investments in Korea constituted 3.56% of our GDP. That's the fourth highest proportion in the world.
KIPO has contributed to this state of affairs by helping enterprises protect their R&D outcomes as IP. As a result, Korean products have become increasingly popular throughout Asia and the rest of the world.
Small and medium-sized enterprises in Korea often need help in the areas of innovation and IP creation. To meet this need, our office runs 31 local IP centers to encourage them to create their own IP. The centers offer consultations on patent management as well as on brand and design strategies.

Interview: Mr Rong Ren, Managing Director & CEO, Harvest Capital

2011-03-29T09:56:00.001+09:00

Currently managing about $1.8 billion in five funds and generating returns of over 20% IRR, Harvest Capital Partners brings together an unparalleled cross-border and cross-disciplinary team of property investment professionals. With the backing of its majority owner, it is uniquely positioned to identify and capitalize on prime and off-market transactions in China’s dynamic property development market.
The company was named “Asia Firm of the Year” by PERE magazine in the Global PERE 2010 Awards and "Property Investor of the Year - China" by The Asset magazine in the 2010 Triple-A Investment Awards. These awards are among the most prestigious accolades for the global private equity real estate industry.
Mr Rong Ren, Managing Director & CEO, Harvest Capital, spoke to us about the company’s goals and his perspective on the Chinese property market.

Could you give us a brief background on your company?
Harvest Capital Partners is a boutique investment firm that specializes in real estate investment funds focused on Greater China. We have a solid track record in the full property investment cycle, from raising capital and developing properties to managing these assets, exiting from our investments and returning capital. We are one of the few China real estate investment managers that can say that we’ve delivered 20% IRRs for our investors since 2006.
The approach we take is based on a disciplined investment model, incorporating an absolute return, value-driven strategy, to achieve medium- to long-term capital appreciation for investors. What makes us different is our hybrid-business model, in that we not only invest capital but also get actively involved in developing and managing properties. This allows us to add significant value to our projects, which we would not be able to do if we were simply passive investors.
Our portfolio of real estate funds is focused on selected regional cities, which have a large population base, high economic growth and rapidly increasing per capita disposable income.
Based on these criteria, we invest in the Bohai Gulf Region, Yangtze River Delta, Shandong Peninsula, and the Pearl River Delta, including Hong Kong. We are committed to creating maximum value for all of our investments by providing expertise from land acquisition, project development through to asset and portfolio management.
Our investments cover a focused array of asset classes, covering residential and retail properties, office buildings, hotels and serviced apartments. Specifically, we target assets that are unique either in terms of location or where significant value can be created and enhanced through refurbishment, repositioning, development or redevelopment, thereby capitalizing on the strong demand for asset dispositions in China.
Another strong advantage we have is the full support of China Resources Group, which gives us unparalleled access to a strong network in both first and second tier cities in China, where demand is fuelled by urbanisation and strong fundamentals in a rapidly growing economy.
Our entire team is passionately committed to these principles, and we all take our fiduciary responsibilities to our LPs very seriously. Being a member of ANREV is also important as it helps us pursue best practices in the funds management industry and increase transparency for our LPs. We manage capital on behalf of others, so we understand the need to manage our investment risks carefully in order to achieve the best possible returns.

What is your investment strategy and what asset classes do you think are providing the most promising returns? What cities have the biggest upside potential?
It is sometimes misleading to think of China as one market. Depending on our investors' risk appetite, investment horizon and objectives, we look to tailor specific investment strategies for them.
For example, while there is a lot of media attention on the government’s efforts to cool down the residential market, we feel this is a good time to invest. Various developers are facing liquidity constraints because of the government measures, and we are starting to see good deal flow in the residential sector.
Based on our market read at this point in time, we are looking at:
Mid-market retail in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in China, which are benefiting most from the urbanization trends and supported by strong retail consumption
The affordable housing sector, which is currently being supported by governments at all levels
Selected office investments in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, which will benefit greatly from the increasing long term capital that is emerging in China's capital markets
Selected mixed use developments on an opportunistic basis, and
Guaranteed yield products backed by high credit quality developers.
So as you can see, the opportunities and deal flow in China remain strong and Harvest Capital is well placed to continue to offer our LPs — both foreign and local — investment opportunities that fit their risk appetite and investment objectives.

There is an on-going debate among industry experts on India versus. China. What are the major differences?
We're not qualified to comment about the opportunities in India, as our mandate and expertise is primarily in China. I'm sure both countries offer excellent opportunities as their overall demographics are quite similar.
However, based on discussions with investors, I see one key difference being the Chinese government's efficiency in planning and encouraging a sustainable investment market through clear regulation, building infrastructure that supports property investments, and establishing a market environment conducive to making a decent return.
The government coordinates its planning very well and makes it easy for investors in China to see its intentions. For example, this year's 12th five-year plan is quite clear about social development, stimulating domestic consumption, reducing the income gap, promoting environmental awareness and increasing the value of China's industries. Hence, as an investor in this market, you can anticipate what strategies are sustainable over the coming years and plan accordingly. I think that's a huge advantage.

There is a stiff competition among foreign and local fund managers try to raise capital for China. What sets you apart from other players?
The Chinese market is full of opportunities, if you know where to look. There is also plenty of room for competition, which we feel is good for the development of the market.
Harvest Capital is different from most private equity real estate players in the market as we are truly local. Being part of the China Resources Group, a State-owned Enterprise, also has its advantages. Our networks and pipeline of opportunities are genuinely deep. All of our investments are sourced off-market, and our key focus is to buy into investments at a reasonably low cost. What’s more, having an extensive footprint in the country gives us access to proprietary research and information not available to others.
As a local player, China's real estate market is not opaque to us and we are able to make informed decisions when we assess investments in different cities. Another key difference is that we have a hybrid business model with significant asset management capabilities. We're not just a financial investor.
The team at Harvest Capital is also very experienced, bringing together both local and foreign expertise within an international best practice framework.
All of these factors resonate with our investors and the industry, which I think accounts for us receiving the award from The Asset magazine and being the first Chinese firm to win Asia Firm of the Year at the Global PERE Awards.

What are the best market entry strategies as a foreign investor?
I think some investors underestimate the partnership risks in China. We advise anyone looking to invest in China to find a suitable local partner. China is still a market that requires significant local expertise, due to the general lack of transparency and the sheer geographical scale.
It remains challenging to invest directly in China but having a good local partner will help smooth over "local" issues. Even more importantly, investors should look at China as a long term investment destination.
At Harvest Capital, we try to build long-term relationships that add value to our partners in numerous ways, such as utilizing our asset management capabilities to increase returns. We can also bring our networks and relationships to the partnership, such as tenant relationships, government relationships or banking relationships. Essentially, we can act as a "bridge" between our investors and China, and our LPs can look to us to manage the local risks as best as we can, leveraging on our expertise to deliver the best possible risk adjusted returns.

Eating Live Octopus in Korea

2011-03-16T16:32:00.001+09:00

Check out this video...
I have not had the courage to try it out so far!!!

Foreigners in Korea: Koreapass is giving free 50,000 won shopping cards!

2011-03-08T17:47:00.002+09:00

Want to get a free 50,000 won shopping card? If you are a foreigner, living in Korea for less than a year, hurry up and apply to Koreapass.
As this article notes:

One hundred foreign residents here will be selected this month to become monitors of ``Korea Pass,’’ a prepaid card designed for foreign tourists, as part of the Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) efforts to promote its use.
If selected, foreigners will be given a 50,000-won ($45) prepaid card from the state-run tourism promoter and be allowed to spend the money at department stores or other hospitality-related businesses of their choice. All they have to do is to fill out a one-page questionnaire later about their shopping experiences.
KTO is accepting email applications from those who are interested in becoming monitors at koreapass@knto.or.kr through March 13. An application form can be downloaded at www.koreapass.or.kr [NOTE: JUST LIKE ALL KOREAN WEBSITES, YOU CAN ACCESS IT ONLY BY USING INTERNET EXPLORER! NO WONDER THE NORTH KOREANS ARE ABLE TO REGULARLY HACK THEM!]

Those selected will receive the card by March 18 and spend the money through March 31. Monitors will then be required to submit a questionnaire by April 8.
Card users can receive up to 30 percent discounts at department stores, tourism spots, museums, theaters and restaurants in Seoul and Busan. They include Chongdong Theater, Lotte Mart, Seven-Eleven, Angel-in-us Coffee, Lotte Duty Free, T.G.I. Friday’s and TomaTillo.

Interview: Mr. Lee Jung-whoon, General Manager, Finance & Investment Dept., Korea Asset Management Corporation

2011-03-02T10:28:00.000+09:00

has been making contributions to the national economy by helping overcome crisis and develop the economy through various supporting measures for the financial industry.
Nonperforming loans (NPLs) were at the heart of the financial crisis that engulfed the Korean economy during 1997–98. The recovery has also been characterized by a rapid and drastic reduction in the level of NPLs in the financial system.
The government played a leading role in financial and corporate restructuring, including strengthening the legal and regulatory framework, injecting public funds, and reinforcing the functions of nstitutions for crisis management, such as the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO).
KAMCO played an important role in facilitating the restructuring process and helping to develop financial markets. First, KAMCO purchased distressed assets from banks and other financial institutions, which allowed lending to resume at a time when liquidity was scarce. This objective was complemented by increased supervision to ensure that banks were operating on sound commercial principles.
Second, KAMCO’s resolution of NPLs contributed to the good progress made in Korea in recovering public funds injected by the government for financial sector restructuring. In addition, KAMCO disposed of many of these distressed assets through a number of innovative methods, including by issuing asset-backed securities (ABS), which launched an important new market in Korea.
Mr. Lee Jung-whoon, General Manager, Finance & Investment Dept., KAMCO, speaks about the crucial rope played by the organization and its role ahead.

Could you give us a brief introduction to KAMCO?
Since its inception in 1962, Korea Asset Management Corporation has been making contributions to the national economy by helping overcome crisis and develop the economy through various supporting measures for the financial industry.
During the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the national economy was facing the Asian economic crisis. In order to efficiently resolve non-performing loans (NPL) of financial institutions, KAMCO formed the NPL Resolution Fund of 39 trillion dollars, and acquired 111 trillion won of non-performing loans. And since 2009, with a view to proactively coping with global financial crisis, KAMCO has been operating the Restructuring Fund, as a full-time organization for restructuring process.
In addition, KAMCO is in charge of government-commissioned work such as state-owned property management, collection of overdue taxes, and assistance for consumer credit recovery. After the incumbent CEO Young-chul Chang took office, we categorized domestic properties into three: state-owned, financial, and credit properties. KAMCO is trying its utmost in managing all three categories as a comprehensive asset manager of the properties owned by the Korean government.
What is the performance of the NPL Resolution Fund and the Restructuring Fund like?
Using the NPL Resolution Fund, we collected 6.2 trillion won additionally to the amount of public fund invested, by acquiring non-performing loans of the face value of 111 trillion won and resolving 71% of them up to now.
In this process, we also converted some of the non-performing loans into equity, transforming them into blue-chip companies and selling them in the market. Some noticeable examples include Daewoo Heavy Industries & Machinery Co., Dongah Construction Industrial Co. Ltd., and more recently sold Daewoo International.
With lessons learned from the Asian economic crisis, we were able to proactively deal with the recent global financial crisis, by early establishing the Restructuring Fund. Since 2008, we have purchased PF bonds of 8.5 trillion won, swiftly and actively responding to the destabilizing factors of the financial market. In order to support shipping industry in liquidity crisis, KAMCO formed a shipping fund, having purchased 27 ships (worth of 860 billion won) so far.
We understand that your department is responsible for KAMCO’s overseas business. What are the progress and future plans?
KAMCO’s overseas business was launched with the mandate of assisting private sectors in overseas market creation and creating future growth engines of KAMCO, utilizing various domestic and international networks and experiences learned from the post-crisis process of resolving 111 trillion worth of NPL and performing corporate restructuring.
Investment preparedness provided through the revision of law to enable direct investment between 2005 and 2006 triggered full-scale implementation of the overseas business.
In the first round, in 2007, KAMCO acquired properties from a Chinese state-run AMC, followed by the successful investment brokerage in 2008. Afterwards, KAMCO established a local AMC with dispatched staff, and has been in full operation for management and collection.
Our view on the market indicates that, after the global financial crisis, it is high time for us to enter the NPL markets of advanced countries including the US. We are thus currently cooperating with domestic and overseas institutions to screen blue-chip investment grade targets.
This year has goals of exporting KAMCO Model, which is business knowhow accumulated through our on-going training and consulting business for developing countries, and successfully implementing pilot deals of investing in NPL in advanced countries such as the US.
Does it mean that KAMCO is also offering training for overseas institutions?
Yes. Since 2001, we have been providing training courses on our knowhow of NPL resolution and restructuring process, accumulated through overcoming the Asian economic crisis, for many governments such as China, India and Vietnam.
A total of 22 rounds of training courses have been completed, with a purpose of maintaining close relationship with organizations of other countries. In addition, we have concluded MOUs with 17 government organizations from 11 countries, contributing to the heightened international status of KAMCO.
Recently, local pension funds have been showing great interest in US real estate market, with some investment projects already initiated. What is impressive is the speed of the movement by public corporations. Do you have any experiences in the US market? What are they about?
There has been a series of prospects that says the US market shows a sign of recovery starting with the corporate sector, as recently seen in the continuous increase of corporate fixed investment. Both IMF and many IBs are competing in upwardly adjusting future economic growth rate assumptions.
However, a general consensus of the international financial community is that it will not be easy for a huge market like the US to recover in a short period of time. Examples include the increasing non-performance of commercial assets and continued bankruptcies of small-and-medium-sized banks.
KAMCO has also been monitoring the US market for investment ever since the financial crisis, with some cases almost striking the contract. But basically we are still focusing on risk management based on conservatism.
For example, it was in 2008 when we were conducting a preliminary underwriting for the purchase of a 450 million dollar portfolio owned by a global IB, reaching the stage of price negotiation. It was late August. The seller insisted that the asset price was almost bottoming out, but our underwriters said that there would be further dip of about 15% or more. Obviously, the deal was not possible to be closed.
After the failure of negotiation, our underwriting team backed out. And on the 15th of September, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, suddenly elevating the financial risks all around the world, ultimately causing steep rise of foreign exchange rates in Korea and aggravating the investment environment.
So, it turned out to be a good thing that you had to break the deal?
Sure. The asset value was plummeting afterwards, as we had anticipated. And the foreign exchange rate increased by almost 50%. Even if the price was successfully negotiated, it must have been difficult to close the contract.
That was a very clear example of risk management. Also in 2009 and 2010, we had some cases of reaching the point of price negotiation, but we had to use our conservative stance again, believing that there was a possibility of further price drop.
Could you explain the nature of the investment business of KAMCO?
Our target focuses not only income generation but also assistance for the private sector in their overseas business. To do the latter, we are informing Korean institutional investors of high-grade investment targets and helping them with asset management.
Of course, to lead the overall deals, we also need to make some investment at the threshold level. We are also planning to establish JV-AMCs with local organizations, through which we can learn the systems of the countries to be invested and accumulate asset management knowhow. In China, where we had two deals closed, we have already established an AMC, gathering information on local investment systems and grasping the knowhow of asset management.
I am not saying that investment yield is not important. What I mean is that it is an important point of consideration that the intangible assets also need to be acquired at the same time. Domestic pension funds are also welcoming the business structure in which KAMCO participates in overall asset management.
The investment business will start from small-scale projects in advanced countries where the cycle is widely believed to be bottoming out. After making successful investment, we will expand the scale by phase.
First, we plan to start with selective high-grade investment targets out of troubled assets such as NPL or REO owned by local financial institutions. Currently, with a view to acquiring assets under bulk sale by FDIC, we are currently under joint consultation with an organization with successful bidding experiences.
There must be some difficulties experienced by a public corporation like KAMCO in dealing with IB business.
KAMCO has amassed a high international credit standing and credibility with fair business treatment, which are great advantages of our actual implementation of projects.
Currently, we have some difficulties in proactively exploring potential high quality projects, because of the limitation posed by the KAMCO Act, which stipulates that investment targets should be confined to the NPL Resolution Fund. However, we are planning to expand the target investments to the Restructuring Fund by amending the act.
And the issue of relatively long decision-making process as a public corporation could be substantially overcome by sharing roles with private counterparts.
Do you have any parting parting comments for our readers?
According to the IMF estimation, the total loss incurred by financial institutions worldwide amounts to 4,000 trillion won, with US and European markets alone at 2,000 trillion won.
When it comes to NPL markets of advanced countries, the barrier of entry used to be too high in the past. But, in a couple of years ahead, it is expected that opportunities will come for us to purchase high-quality assets at lower price. That might be a once-in-a-life-time chance, though.
We will do our best in actively and fully utilizing various experiences and rich networks of KAMCO, rather than neglecting them, so that KAMCO can be leading liquidity in the private sector toward more stable investment targets, thus contributing to the national wealth creation. This, I believe, is the true mission given to a public corporation.

Interview: Mr. Richard Han, Managing Partner, Vestas Investment Management

2011-02-25T10:12:00.001+09:00

Vestas Investment Management is a newly licensed Real Estate Fund management company authorized by the Financial Services Commission in September 2010.
In January, Vestas Investment Management announced that it has commenced capital raising for Vestas-Meritz Korea Real Estate Fund I . Vestas and its co-GP partner, Meritz Securities are participating for capital raising and fund targets country focused, core plus/value added and cyclical opportunities in the Seoul office sector. The Fund considers foreign pension fund/ fund of fund type investors with selective local pension fund investors with raising amount of USD 200~300 million.
Vestas is newly licensed Real Estate Fund management company authorized by Financial Services Commission (FSC) in September 2010. Key senior executives including Mr. Richard Han, Managing Partner, mostly joined from Macquarie Real Estate Korea (wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Bank) and other foreign private equity funds management company, where the team implemented global standard in investment, asset management, and divestment for past 10 years in Korea.
In an exclusive interview, Mr. Han speaks about the company and his plans for the year.

Could please you give us a background about Vestas Investment Management?
VIMC was established in 2010 and authorized by Financial Services Commission(FSC) as a licensed Real Estate Fund (“REF”) management company. Most key senior executives joined from Macquarie Real Estate Korea (a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Bank) and other foreign private equity funds management companies with previous experience from several local and international groups such as JLL, Deloitte, and Daewoo.
I was managing director of both Macquarie Real Estate Korea and Ostara Korea Fund where I established a local team and built up 1.7 trillion won asset value of portfolio with current team. All transactions were high profile deals traded among major institutional investors and private equity funds such as RREEF, GE Real Estate, Lone Star, National Pension Service (NPS), and Samsung Life. Key transactions included acquisition of SK Securities, Tong-Yang Securities, and Daewoo Securities Building, Kukdong Building, ING Tower, Smart Plex, Pantech New HQ, and K1 REIT building and current team was leading the whole transactions from deal origination/execution, asset management and divestment.
Key milestones among these transactions include introducing first foreign managed CR REIT with underling asset of Kukdong building and two REIT establishment for National Pension Service where NPS invested 500 billion won of equity.
Vestas established global standard practice from previous foreign employers such as high standards of investment discipline, transparent governance, alignment of interest with investors, and reporting system. Capability to implement global standards for real estate investment and management is the key strength which would differentiate Vestas from other local fund managers.
A strong locally experienced real estate team with proven country and sector focused investment track records will be the key driver to source and execute private/off market transactions ahead of other players in the market and Vestas seek risk adjusted returns for our clients by carefully assessing potential investment opportunities and actively managing portfolios.

Where do you see the investment opportunities in Korea for 2011?
Korean real estate market is no longer an emerging market and it is now entering the stage of a stabilizing/mature market where investors should expect relatively lower return with low risk. Nevertheless, the market would look attractive to investors seeking stable yield with some capital appreciation.
We assess commercial office building sector to be still attractive (1) most liquid and (2) largest real estate holdings in a typical Korean company’s balance sheet. Some development type office take-out projects where developers having financial difficulties to continue and complete could be potential investment opportunities. Retail sectors could have opportunities where big discount store operators have an appetite for sale-lease back type divestment of existing assets for their continuous expansion requirements. Stable yield backed by quality credit of operators will provide investment opportunities.
When the market is tightening and investors have difficulty to find out attractive deals, that does not mean investors will not get attractive deals in the market. There are fund managers in the market who have hands-on experience and who have the capability to source and execute potential deals ahead of other players in the market. As long as investors assess the Korean real estate market to provide stable yield generation opportunities supported by strong fundamentals of the economy, the country should still be considered for future investment allocation.

How do you compare Korea with Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore? Why should foreign investors invest into Korea?
As just mentioned earlier, even when the Korean real estate market is tightening and therefore can’t enjoy high returns as was the case of 3~5 years ago, Korea still has its competitiveness compared with other Asian countries. I would like to limit my comments to the commercial office building sector.
First, fundamentals of Korean economy are strong and stable compared with other Asian countries with constant 4~5% GDP growth even after the global financial crisis. Second, many investors always consider Japan or China first in Asian Market in terms of capital allocation mainly based upon market volume with some other factors. In fact, China is still a growing market but it is also understood that investors should not ignore transparency/consistency in government policy and potential bubbles. Although all the investment environment of Japan might be more open to foreign investors and we see a lot bigger transaction volumes compared to other Asian countries, current slow economic situation would not make it easy to justify any investment commitment. In that sense, Korea has a very transparent investment environment with predictable/ stable income generating asset pools, although the target return is getting lower. Third, even though many investors are concerned about vacancies due to scheduled increasing supplies in Seoul market, this could generate buying opportunities in return as there could be pressured sellers. Historically, Seoul office market vacancy has been so low and stable and even when vacancy increases due to increasing supply, we don’t expect to see dramatically rising high vacancies like 20%~30% as some other Asian countries experienced before. In the case of total occupancy cost, Seoul grade A office still ranks lower than other major cities such as Tokyo and Hong Kong.
To conclude, I would like to say that as long as fund managers are more creative and more proactive ahead of other players based on hands-on local experience, there are good investment opportunities where superior risk-adjusted returns could be achieved. In particular, if investors are interested in stable yield generation with some capital appreciation, the Seoul office market is still attractive to investors.

Why are there only two Korean country-specific funds so far in Korea?
Although there are quite a few Pan-Asia regional type foreign managed funds, there are only two country focused private equity fund managed by foreign managers in the market. When most Pan Asia funds were raised, I understand Korea always has had relatively lower weighting in terms of capital allocation and fund managers did not have interest to launch country focused funds.
Having said that, if you look into Korean real estate market, when the market was open to foreign investors in late 1990s after the Asian financial crisis, real estate investment market grew substantially and now we see active investment grade /institutionalized transactions. In addition, based upon many transactions led by foreign investors, global standard practice is now quite common in Korea.
Even if many regional funds could still cover Korea for future investment, it could be more effective to have country focused fund managers to implement transparent and sophisticated investment management when real estate investment business anyway should be locally driven in various aspects. Many pan Asian type regional funds also happened to reduce or shut down their presence and operation in Korea recently due to restructuring after the recent financial crisis and it could be a good opportunity for investors to consider country focused funds and enter the Korean market.
In particular, when selective local fund managers now have hands-on experience with proven track record and when these fund managers can implement global standards for investment and management, we should see more private equity fund type business opportunities in Korea.

Why is Vestas trying to introduce a private equity fund business model in Korea (targeting not only foreign LPs but also local LPs) when most local fund managers just raise capital from local investors on a project basis when the deal is secured?
Many local fund managers know private equity fund business model is quite effective and competitive because fund managers can secure certain deal ahead of other players when there is committed capital from investors. Nevertheless, most local fund managers didn’t explore this type of business model for several reasons. First, local investors don’t prefer to commit in the blind pool type private equity fund and therefore local fund managers have not explored this business model with local investors. Second, most local fund managers do not have experience working with local or foreign investors in the form of private equity business model, either.
As far as local investors are concerned, it is a matter of how fund manager could give comfort to them in relation with investment decision making process when local investors are not used to giving discretion for investment decision to fund manager in the blind type fund. Vestas has some creative ideas to resolve this with potential local investors and that is why Vestas would like to challenge local investors’ commitment into private equity fund.
In addition, local investors would be more serious in this type of blind pool private equity fund if they see credible foreign LPs committed in the fund. We also understand many local institutional investors have ever increasing appetite and need to outsource their funds management to third parties as is the case in many developed countries in line with increasing demand for alternative investment (in particular real estate) allocation. Many institutional investors realize they cannot manage their portfolio in house with limited specialized professionals forever.
Vestas have built up strong global standard practice know-how to manage private equity fund business. In that sense, we are ready and open to any local or foreign potential investors for potential private equity fund management business opportunities in Korea. We should challenge more opportunities to introduce foreign investors and local investors into this type of business structure which could be mutually complementary and beneficial to local and foreign investors.