Cambodia 6th leading destination for Korean overseas investment

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has become the sixth leading destination for South Korean overseas investment, English daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post Thursday quoted South Korean Ambassador Shin Hyun-suk as saying.

The total amount of South Korean investment in Cambodia to March 2008 stood at 1.46 billion U.S. dollars, followed by China, the U.S., Hong Kong of China, Vietnam and Malaysia, he said.

The number of South Korean investors in Cambodia was above 500 and they used to focus on the garment sector, but in recent years became diversified to banking, agriculture, food processing, tourism, manufacturing, construction and IT, he said.

"In terms of amounts, construction is the dominant field for South Korean investment in Cambodia in these days," he added.

Meanwhile, South Korea's imports from Cambodia totaled 8.9 million U.S. dollars in 2007, an increase of 62.5 percent over 2006, and South Korea's exports to Cambodia have posted big rises over the past three years, amounting to 144 million U.S. dollars in 2005, 206 million U.S. dollars in 2006, and 281 million U.S. dollars in 2007, he said.

"Once the South Korea-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement is ratified, the trade volume between South Korea and Cambodia will be boosted immensely," he added.

Editor: Yao