Koreans’ persistent interest in investing in the Czech Republic confirmed by AFI/CzechInvest seminar in Seoul

This is evident in the strong interest shown by Korean companies at the "Invest in the Czech Republic - Your Gateway to Europe!" seminar organised by the Association for Foreign Investment and CzechInvest with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and AFI partners. The seminar, which took place in Seoul on 25 February, was attended by Czech Prime Minister Mr. Bohuslav Sobotka, who is providing support to Czech companies engaged in commercial activities with their Korean counterparts during his current trip to Korea.

The Association for Foreign Investment sees South Korea as one of its priorities in terms of attracting foreign investors to the Czech Republic. This is illustrated by the fact that the AFI has organised two specialised seminars on this theme in Korea in the past two years. The event was attended by forty representatives of major Korean manufacturing firms and other companies. So it is clear that Koreans are still very interested in obtaining information about investment opportunities in the Czech Republic.

“The manner of presenting information is an important aspect of attracting the interest of investors. Therefore, the seminar programme featured not only speakers from the Czech Republic, but also Korean representatives with knowledge of the European market who, in addition to providing information on the given topic, also shared their experience with the life of Korean managers in the Czech Republic. The participation and support of the prime minister were of great benefit benefit for the success of the event,” says Kamil Blažek, chairman of the Association for Foreign Investment.

CzechInvest's new foreign office currently began operations in Seoul. "This is the result of the successful cooperation between our two countries in recent years, as well as confirmation that we want to further strengthen relations," says Karel Kučera, CEO of CzechInvest.

“Korean investors appreciate the overall quality of the Czech business environment, including the low level of taxation and investment incentives. This is confirmed by the success stories of Korean companies that are already operating in the Czech Republic,” says Jan Linhart, partner responsible for Korean Desk at KPMG Czech Republic, describing the benefits of doing business in the Czech Republic.

“At the seminar, we pointed out the stability and good condition of the financial sector in the Czech Republic, which can provide Korean companies with financial services in the quality and scope to which they are accustomed at home. Thanks to this, Česká spořitelna can boast an ever increasing share in financial services provided to Korean firms in the Czech Republic, says Jan Vrátník, COO of Erste Corporate Finance.

“The Czech labour market still offers a rich source of employees which are – thanks to their loyalty and diligence – a guarantee of high return on investment, higher than in other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. We are very glad that we could present these advantages of the Czech Republic to Korean investors in Seoul,” says Rita Cseke, Area Manager – Reed Europe.

Over the course of a full week, members of the CzechInvest/AFI investment mission conducted bilateral talks with selected Korean companies in order to establish closer contact with their representatives so that they can continue to work on bringing them to the Czech Republic. “Hence, we would like to support not only investments in the area of industry, but also in other sectors in which we see potential, such as power engineering,” adds Blažek.

The partners of the “Invest in the Czech Republic – Your Gateway to Europe!”  seminar, which took place at the Lotte hotel in Seoul, were Erste Corporate Banking, Kinstellar law firm, KPMG Česká republika, Reed and Takenaka GmbH.