& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

South Korea no longer novular with foreign investors
SEOUL, Dec 10: High wages, frequent labour strife, government red tape and lax protection of Industrial properly rights are making South Korea and Increasingly tough place to Invest, according to experts and a report Issued Thursday, writes AP.
The South Korean economy, which grew an average 10 per cent per year over the past decade, was until recently seen by foreigners as a robust market with high future potential.
But during the first 10 months of this year, new foreign investment In South Korea totally 687 million dollar down from 1.28 billion dollar a year earlier, according to Finance Ministry figures Issued Thursday.
The ministry said 89 million dollar worth of foreign investment was withdrawn from South Korea during the first half of the year, compared with 23 million dollar in the same period last year.
Foreign businessmen complain that South Korea's environment for foreign investment.
particularly in the manufacturing sector. Is deteriorating, while that tn other Asian nations is improving.
"South Korea is not as attractive to foreign investors as in the past," said Richard) Mangel, chairman of the foreign Investment committee for the US Chamber of Commerce In Seoul.
Alarmed by an exodus of foreign Investors and a sharp drop in the arrival of new foreign Investment. South Korea has expanded lax breaks and other incentives, but they are not enough, Mangel said.
Several multinational companies, including General Motors Corp, General Electric Co. ARCO and Unilever, all from the United States, have said they will pull operations out of South Korea soon.
Several more multinational companies, including Hoechst of Germany, are known to be considering closing their businesses, Industry officials said.
’The situation Is worrisome" Kang Suk-in, head of the Finance Ministry’s Foreign
Investment Division, said in an interview. "It's a combination of many factors, including high wages and labour problems."
The ministry has said ft will speed up approval for foreign Investment, ease regulations on foreign-Invested firms and simplify approval procedures for investment effective next March. It said tax breaks will be given to foreign Investors in high-tech areas.
High wages, which nearly tripled during the past five years, and frequent labour disputes and cited as major factors driving out foreign investors, especially in textiles, electronics and machinery.
For example. General Motors Corp recently ended a 14-year joint venture relationship with Daewoo Motor Co. after years of financial losses and managerial disputes.
ARCO of the Untied States terminated Its joint venture ties with Yukong Ltd. mainly because of difficulties in raising funds for new petrochemical projects, officials said.
Annual interest rates on ordinary loans hover around 15 per cent here, compared with five per cent to six per cent in leading Industrialised nations. Even the expensive loans arc difficult to get because of a chronic credit crunch.
Foreign Investors also complain about strict and often discriminatory government regulations they claim are Intended to protect domestic industries.
These Include a ban on ownership of real estate and the use of foreign currency loans by foreign Invested firms.
Also cited is insufficient protection of patent and other intellectual property rights that make foreign companies reluctant to invest in computer and other high tech areas.
Lotus Development, a US-based computer software giant, recently considered Investing in South Korea, but scrapped the Idea because of difficulty In protecting its Industrial secrecy. Industry officials said