Policy Reference
PUBLISH
Policy Reference
-
Korea's Overseas Direct Investment: Its Performance and Problems
Korea's Overseas Direct Investment: Its Performance and Problems Yunjong Wang Top-notch multinational corporations are actively undertaking overseas direct investment as a globalization strategy. With this global trend, Korean co..
Yun-Jong Wang Date 1998.03.23
Overseas direct investmentDownloadContentSummaryKorea's Overseas Direct Investment: Its Performance and Problems Yunjong Wang Top-notch multinational corporations are actively undertaking overseas direct investment as a globalization strategy. With this global trend, Korean companies have also earnestly started to pursue overseas operations since mid 1990s. However, their financial performance has not been satisfactory until now.
In general, domestic companies outperformed Korea's overseas subsidiaries in 1994-95. By region, financial performance of overseas companies was so bad in China, Europe, and the United States, while moderately successful in South East Asia and Latin America. By investment size, larger investment recorded worse performance. By manufacturing sector, performance was comparatively good in foods, textile and apparrel, woods and furniture, and non-metallic mineral, while red inked in footwear, leather, basic metals, and fabricated metals. By equity ratio, companies with majority shares performed worse than ones with minority shares. Early birds recorded even unsatisfactory, but relatively stable performance. Late entrants on the average did not make profits.
Korean companies abroad also showed similar, or even worse propensity to overborrow in their financial structures. In all regions except China, overseas companies recorded higher debt to equity ratios than domestic companies on the average. In particular, larger companies preferred to borrow from international or local financial markets because financial costs were cheaper there than in domestic financial markets.
Korean companies have been currently facing the difficulties to borrow as a result of downgrading of credit ratings, since Korea was hit by financial crisis. Korea's overseas companies now have to change their globalization strategy from expansion-oriented to efficiency-oriented in order to overcome many obstacles ahead. In order to enhance efficiency of overseas operations, following issues should be properly addressed: profit-based management; global networking; concerted overseas operations between Chaebols and small-and-medium sized companies; regional differentiation; localization of overseas subsidiaries; human resource management; reduction of credit guarantees by parent companies; requirement of consolidated balance sheets including overseas subsidiaries; database system and analysis of overseas direct investment statistics; and private coordinating agency for overseas companies. -
-
Economic of The Traid : Conflict and Cooperation among the United States, Japan and Korea
This book aims to assess how the economic linkages within the Triad are operating in terms of conflicts and cooperation, and to project how these linkages could work towards a positive-sum result in the future, so that economic gr..
YunSuk Kim et al. Date 1998.01.08
Economic cooperationDownloadContentSummaryThis book aims to assess how the economic linkages within the Triad are operating in terms of conflicts and cooperation, and to project how these linkages could work towards a positive-sum result in the future, so that economic growth and policy coordination progress with respect to the changing global economy. The editors of this volume contend that the discussion of the Triad economy might be a building block for a globally-oriented economy which complements the World Trade Organization and, in particular, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Put differently, economic linkages of the Triad would not only conform to the principles of the multilateral WTO and APEC, but should also produce a substantial improvement in the rules of those organizations which would harmonize their global and regional components successfully. -
Potential for Services Liberalisation between AFTA and CER
Christopher Findlay et al. Date 1997.12.30
Economic relations, Free tradeDownloadContentContents
Introduction
Services and the World Trade Organization
Asia Pacific Regional Agreements and Services
Architectural Initiatives
Sectoral Initiatives
Conclusions
References
국문 요약
Summary -
China's Banking Reform under Sustained Growth
Nicholas R. Lardy Date 1997.12.30
Economic reform, Financial policyDownloadContentContents
I. Presentation : China's Banking Reform under Sustained Growth
II. Supplementary Comments
국문 요약
Summary -
ASEAN : 30 Years of Existence and Challenges Ahead
Chia Siow Yue Date 1997.12.30
Economic cooperation, Political economyDownloadContentContents
I. Introduction
II. ASEAN Economies
III. ASEAN Political-Security Cooperation
IV. ASEAN Economic Cooperation
V. Expansion of ASEAN Membership
VI. External Linkages
VII. Conclusion
Bibliography
국문 요약
Summary -
Asia and Latin America : A New Partnership
Omar Martinez Legorreta Date 1997.12.30
Economic cooperation -
Benefits and Costs of Agricultural Liberalisation in Korea
David P.Vincent et al. Date 1997.12.30
Agricultural policy, Free tradeDownloadContentContents
Summary
1. Introduction
2. Korea's Agricultural Protection Regime
3. Influences for reform
4. Measuring the effects on the Korean economy of Korea's agricultural protection
5. Effects on Korea's trading partners
References
Appendix A : Details of Korea model
Appendix B : The version of the GTAP model used
국문 요약
Summary -
Northeast Asia's Transboundry Pollution Problems : A Pragmatic Approach (97.12)
The progress of existing institutions for Northeast Asia's transboundary pollution problems is not satisfactory so far. The question concerns which type of institutional and financial arrangement should be chosen. This study consi..
Sang-Don Lee et al. Date 1997.12.30
Environmental policyDownloadContentSummaryThe progress of existing institutions for Northeast Asia's transboundary pollution problems is not satisfactory so far. The question concerns which type of institutional and financial arrangement should be chosen. This study considers the institutional and financial arrangements for the transboundary pollution problems in Northeast Asia as the cost allocation and cost efficiency problem among the countries in the region. The cost allocation problem refers to the question of who should bear the cost of emission abatement required to avoid environmental aggravation in the region. The cost efficiency problem seeks the most efficient way to mobilize financial resources while giving economic incentives to those who undertake projects. These two problems are related. However, if possible, the separation of the efficiency issue from the cost allocation issue may alleviate the bottleneck of the cooperation. Based on the estimates of transboundary transportation of pollutants in the region, an example of cost allocati
on guided by a commonsense rule, and an example of the incentive for international fincncial transfers, bilateral and regional, are provided. The result supports the superiority of a regional mechanism to a bilateral one. Existing institutions' performances are evaluated from this viewpoint. The authorss suggest more flexible and pragmatic approaches in seeking efficiency. They include the consideration of APEC as a potential ancillary forum for the issue, the use of innovative financing methods involving private sectors, and wider use of economic instruments. At the same time, the existing intregovernmental body addressing the issue should preserve its central role for the issue with a clearer and higher, but flexible mandate.
-
Regional Intergration and Liberalization in the Asia-Pacific
This study examines how strongly the Asia-Pacific region is interconnected through trade and investment, and analyzes the welfare implications of regional trade and investment liberalization in the APEC process. It is shown in thi..
Jai-Won Ryou et al. Date 1997.12.30
Economic integration, Free tradeDownloadContentContents
I. Introduction
II. Issues in Regional Trade and Investment Liberalization
1. Compatibility of Regionalism and Multilateralism
2. Political Economy of RTAs
3. Desirability of Open Regionalism
III. Patterns of Trade Flows in the APEC Region
1. Trade Flow Matrix
2. Specialization Structure
3. Export Similarities
4. Services Trade
IV. Trends and Patterns of FDI Activities in the APEC Region
1. Regional FDI Flows
2. FDI by the EU, Japan and the U.S.
3. FDI and Industrial Adjustment
V. Welfare Effects of Liberalization
1. Resource Allocation Effects
2. The Pro-competitive Effect and the Scale Effect
3. Intertemporal Substitution Effects on Savings and Investment
4. Total Effects of Liberalization
5. Implications for Income Convergence
VI. Barriers to Regional Trade and Investment Liberalization
1. Assessment of Barriers
2. Trade-Restrictiveness Indexes
3. Distortionary Effects of Investment Impediments
VII. Summary and Conclusion
References
APPENDIX
국문요약
SummaryThis study examines how strongly the Asia-Pacific region is interconnected through trade and investment, and analyzes the welfare implications of regional trade and investment liberalization in the APEC process. It is shown in this study that intra-regional trade and FDI in the APEC region actually work to strengthen interdependence among its member economies. In spite of unilateral as well as multilateral liberalization efforts of the APEC member economies, however, there still exist substantial barriers to trade and investment in the region. An empirical analysis of the welfare effects of regional trade liberalization implies that Singapore, Malaysia, Chile and Korea belong to the group that would benefit greatly from liberalization. However, the overall effects of regional trade liberalization are substantially affected by the relative size of scale effects. Meanwhile, it remains uncertain whether regional liberalization in the APEC would bring about convergence of income levels of member economies.