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Several foreign companies and investment funds have expressed their keen
interest in the mega projects pursued by the incoming government, including the
Pan-Korea Grand Waterway, Saemangeum reclamation, and Science Business Belt
projects.
According to the presidential transition committee on January 10,
six companies and funds from four countries, namely the Netherlands, Germany,
UAE, and Saudi Arabia, have sent letters of intent to invest in the Grand
Waterway and Saemangeum projects.
The companies from the Netherlands and
Germany, advanced countries, reportedly expressed their interest in the Grand
Waterway project and are considering investing capital and technological
investment. The project is projected to cost somewhere between 14 trillion won
to 20 trillion won.
Investors from the Middle East, which hold ample oil
dollar thanks to surging international oil prices, appear to be more aggressive,
as they have even disclosed specific amounts of their planned investment.
A
fund based in Dubai, UAE, reportedly has set a plan eyeing a $20 billion won
investment in the Grand Waterway and Saemangeum projects. Adnan Khashoggi, a
Saudi billionaire, also disclosed his intention to invest in the projects.
The transition team is also making all-out efforts to attract capital from
the Middle East. The team is mobilizing all channels of connection with the
Middle East, including David Eldon, a co-chairman of the national
competitiveness special committee at the team who doubles as the chairman of the
Dubai International Financial Center Authority; Ha Chan-ho, Korean Ambassador to
Iraq; and Park Dae-won, former Ambassador to Algiers and advisor to
president-elect Lee Myung-bak.
Chu Bu-gil, head of the policy planning
team for president-elect Lee, said, “There are also a number of movers and
shakes in politics and businesses who orally expressed intent to invest through
the diplomatic channel.” He added that “We expect the number of foreign
investors that seek to invest in those projects to rise further, once the new
government is inaugurated.”
k0279@yna.co.kr
By Kang
Young-doo, Yonhap News Agency
2008.01.10
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