New Delhi, May 19: Despite the opening up of several key sectors to foreign investors, a majority of South Korean investors have rated the domestic policy framework as average, a survey by Ficci revealed. The study revealed that as many as 70 per cent of Korean investors surveyed viewed domestic policy as average while just five per cent felt it was good.
However, a large number of respondents said they were keen on increasing their exposure. As many as 50 per cent of the companies that are breaking even in their domestic operations said they were targeting expansions while 44 per cent of those incurring losses said they were keen on increasing their activities.
The survey also showed that there were several areas for growth of bilateral trade including steel, chemicals, automobiles and textiles. The respondents also cited the need for streamlining of policies while suggesting amendments to labour laws to enable creation of friendly business environment.
The survey also pointed out that improvements were needed in the infrastructure sector like ports to reduce time for loading and boarding goods.
On the issue of ground level hassles, 50 per cent of the respondents felt there were no major ground level hurdles while another 30 per cent felt that the irritants were negligible. South Korea accounted for 4.15 per cent of total FDI approvals during 1991-2002 totalling 2.63 billion dollars while in actual terms inflows were placed at 3.39 per cent at 0.61 billion dollars.
The large number of respondents also said handling of approvals at central level was average while 20 per cent said it was good.
Further clear and transparent policy guidelines were needed for attracting foreign investment, they said and advocated adopting single window clearance not only for establishing business organisation but also for ongoing operations. Bureau Report