CII Communique - February, 2010

eport
activity has continued on a recovering trend, which is
expected to be maintained.
IT Sector Posts Surplus
The national trade balance in South Korea’s IT sector
posted a $58.97 billion surplus, the second highest IT
trade surplus in Korea's history.
FDI
FDI in Korea fell 1.9% year on year to $11.48 billion
in 2009. The manufacturing sector saw a growth of
23.9%, while FDI in the service sector dropped 9.5% to
$7.59 billion, mainly due to declining investment in the
finance and insurance sector. Greenfield investments
saw an increase of 11.4%, but FDI through mergers and
acquisitions slid 23.8%. While large-scale investments
in excess of $100 million posted an increase of 32.8
percent from 2008, new investments fell 9.1% compared
with 2008 levels.
Investment in Tech Research
South Korea plans to invest billions of won in research
to develop competitive home-grown technology. The
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology will
spend 354.9 billion won (US$316.0 million) this year - an
South East Asia
Australia
The Performance of the Manufacturing Index by the
Australian Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers
increased by 2.5 points to 51 in January 2010, just
above the 50 point level which indicates expansion.
There was renewed demand in the housing and
resources sectors, especially for businesses involved
in construction materials, transport equipment, petrol
and coal products.
However, Ms Heather Ridout, Chief Executive, Australian
Industry Group, said there were still some areas of
weakness, with employment falling for the first time
in three months. The largest falls in employment
within the manufacturing sector were in food and
beverages, textiles, clothing and footwear. According
to her, manufacturing is still a long way from recovery,
with output in the sector having fallen by 7.8 per cent in
the year upto September 2009, and with around 80,000
jobs lost from the sector in 2009.
The index also shows that while export levels were
up in January, the high Australian dollar continues to
restrict growth.
Mr Graeme Billings, Global Head of Industrial
increase of 18% over 2009 -- to expand know-how in
nanotechnology, biotechnology, technology convergence
and energy.
Agriculture, Food Sector R&D
South Korea plans to spend 5.9 trillion won (US$5 billion)
on farming and food industry R&D by 2014 to build
up its capabilities in this sector. The Ministry for Food,
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the injection of
funds starting in the new year could help push up the
country's overall capabilities in the agriculture and food
processing sectors to 82% of developed economies,
from just 67% at present.
Trade Surplus Hits Record High
South Korea's trade surplus hit a record high in 2009 as
exports recovered faster than expected after the global
recession. The trade surplus of $40.4 billion last year
was the largest ever since 1998.
Per-capita GNI
South Korea's per-capita GNI is expected to exceed
US$20,000 this year, helped by an economic recovery
and the Korean currency's strength.
Manufacturing with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, said
despite continued improvement in the broader economy,
manufacturers are finding revenue growth a major
challenge.
Malaysia
Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister
of Malaysia, addressing a business meeting in New
Delhi on 20 January, invited Indian companies to invest
in biosciences, ICT and education, in Malaysia, and
raise funds from the capital market in his country. He
also proposed a year-end deadline for concluding the
Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation
Agreement (CECA). The CECA, he said, would spur
additional bilateral trade and investment, as well as
create jobs, investment and economic opportunities for
the people of the two countries. “On our part, we will
do all that is necessary to fast-track negotiations for this
purpose,” Dato’ Razak declared.
The Malaysian Prime Minister proposed a bilateral
CEOs Forum from both countries to identify new areas
of cooperation between India and Malaysia. He said
that Malaysia intended to improve its visa regime to
facilitate the travel of business persons and tourists to
56 | February 2010 Communiqué