Urgent Business Trip Entrepreneur Vaccinated in 1 Month... Infrastructure Fund Expanded by 3 Trillion Won (Comprehensive)

Measures to Boost Overseas Orders... Expansion of Export-Import Bank Financial Support for Overseas Investments

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The government will shorten the vaccination period for businesspeople traveling abroad to one month in order to achieve the overseas orders target of $30 billion this year. It will also significantly expand the financial support targets of the Export-Import Bank for overseas business investments and lower interest rates by up to 1 percentage point for companies investing in policy sectors such as eco-friendly projects.

On the 5th, the government announced the "Measures to Revitalize Overseas Orders" containing these details at the Ministerial Meeting on External Economic Affairs. Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, explained in his opening remarks, "We have prepared measures to catch two rabbits: achieving the $30 billion order target this year and advancing the order structure."

As of the end of June this year, order performance was $14.7 billion, a 9% decrease compared to the same period last year ($16.1 billion), and actual orders continue to be dominated by simple construction contracts in the form of subcontracting, which the government aims to change.

Accordingly, a "separate fast-track vaccination system" will be introduced for businesspeople who urgently need to travel abroad, such as to attend important events. Originally, it took three months from vaccination application to completion, but this will be shortened to within one month. Short-term travelers within 3 months to 1 year and their families will also be included in the priority vaccination targets, allowing them to receive vaccination support regardless of the length of their business trip.

The scope of financial support will also be expanded. The minimum equity holding requirement for overseas subsidiaries of Korean companies eligible for support will be drastically relaxed from the existing 10-51% to 10%, and equity can be sold even before loan maturity if the project is completed. For investments in key policy sectors such as eco-friendly and infrastructure, interest rates will be lowered by up to 1 percentage point, and fees will also be reduced.

The investment policy fund for the global Plant, Infrastructure, and Smart City (PIS) sector will be expanded by 1.5 trillion won to a total of 3 trillion won. For low-credit countries, support will be provided using 1 trillion won from the Export-Import Bank’s special account and 800 billion won from the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation’s special account. The government plans to shift the construction engineering sector, which is design-centered, to a PM (Project Management) approach that manages the entire construction process. The PM concept will be introduced into the Construction Technology Promotion Act, and based on this, a pilot project will be promoted where public institutions commission PM to the private sector.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Hong emphasized regarding the global digital tax discussions, "We will thoroughly respond from a national interest perspective regarding the impact on our companies and the allocation of taxing rights," and added, "We will actively participate in the detailed plan discussions scheduled by October to ensure a reasonable international agreement is reached."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.