On Tuesday, March 6, the the Kaliningrad Region Development Corporation met with the representatives of the St. Petersburg branch of the South Korean Trade and Business Promotion Agency Kotra. The Corporation was represented at the meeting by Deputy General Director Oleg Skvortsov, Kotra St. Petersburg , General Director Kim John-Hung and Deputy General Manager Lee Tae Hong. The head of the Center for Entrepreneurship Development of the Kaliningrad Region Kirill Lilo also took part in the negotiations.
In recent years, South Korea has become the leading trading partner of the Kaliningrad region. The trade turnover between the region and one of the four "Asian tigers" amounts to tens of millions of dollars. It provides for the implementation of projects in the Kaliningrad region related to the production of cars and commercial vehicles Kia and Hyundai.
Next year, on the basis of one of the industrial parks, the production of high-tech medical equipment will be launched. South Korean companies Nepes Corp and Insung Medical became co-investors for this project at accost of more than $ 20 million.
The Kaliningrad region and the business community of South Korea are interested in expanding economic cooperation, the emergence of projects in new sectors of industry and services.
According to Deputy Director General of the Development Corporation Oleg Skvortsov, the current situation in the economy and the adopted amendments to the law on the regime of the Kaliningrad special economic zone more than ever facilitate this interaction. "Tax preferences, preferential terms for connection to engineering infrastructure, lease of land in industrial parks are attractive and allow to reduce costs at the stage of project launch and the initial stage of its implementation. Last year in November the Regional Development Corporation has already held talks with the heads of Russian divisions of LG Electronics, Korean Air, Lotte Rus, Korea Exchange Bank, KD Navien. We visited the industrial sites, the gambling zone "Yantarnaya". Companies were interested in the possibilities of localization and opening of their representative offices in the region. I am sure that cooperation with your organization will help to inform even more South Korean companies about the benefits of doing business in the Kaliningrad region, "- Oleg Skvortsov stressed.
Kotra St. Petersburg CEO Kim John-Hoon agreed that at present, small and medium-sized businesses in South Korea need information on the development prospects of the Kaliningrad region, industry tax preferences and benefits, government support measures, and implementation of projects in the Amber Territory. During the meeting, South Korean businessmen showed active interest in tax preferences, payment of VAT, customs duties for residents of the Special Economic Zone, as well as transport and logistics opportunities in the Kaliningrad region.