Central American businessmen will meet in Korea to learn about business opportunities

Seoul, October 16, 2019.-From October 21 to 23, officials of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), government representatives and businessmen from Central American and the Republic of South Korea will meet at the “CABEI Korea Week.”

The event, which was organized by CABEI with the support of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) of the Republic of Korea, will offer participants a space to explore opportunities for investment expansion, cooperation and new partnerships between regions. 

As a strategic partner, CABEI seeks more investment in the region

CABEI Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, stated that, “At CABEI, we are sure that the incorporation of Korea has brought immediate benefits to the institution, taking into account its positive impact on the Bank's financial profile. Korea's high credit rating (AA, Aa2 and AA- with Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch, respectively) enables that the callable capital resulting from its capital subscription to be considered in the indicators that evaluate CABEI's capital position by the main credit rating agencies; in addition, it was one of the main factors that led to CABEI's improvements in March and September 2019 from Standard & Poor's and Moody's Rating Agencies, respectively.”

He added that, "Korea is one of the most industrialized nations in the world, as well as the fifth largest exporter and seventh largest importer, offering a world-class business environment. By means of the CABEI-Korea Week, government officials and businessmen from the member countries will be able to obtain first-hand knowledge about this successful business model.”

It is noteworthy that even before the Republic of Korea officially became a member of CABEI, it had already maintained a close relationship with the Bank, in which CABEI served Korea as a bridge to Central America through the various cooperation schemes signed with Korean institutions to contribute to the region's development.

The aforementioned cooperation schemes include:

·  TThe framework agreement "Master Interbank Credit Line" with the Korea Export and Import Bank (Korea Eximbank - KEXIM) for up to US$300.0 million for an Export Credit Line to finance international trade operations with the Republic of Korea.

·         A Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) in order to promote programs of common interest to both institutions and strengthen technical cooperation to boost infrastructure investment in the region.

·    An agreement with the Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) for up to US$400.0 million to co-finance projects within the sovereign public sector of member countries in economic sectors such as energy (transportation and distribution, smart grid, renewable energy, etc.), transportation (railway, subway, smart transportation system, etc.), e-government, health, education and other potential areas agreed upon by the parties and with participation of Korean companies during execution. 

·      Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea (MSIT) to formalize a non-exclusive cooperation framework and facilitate collaboration between the parties in order to promote programs, projects, initiatives and activities that foster joint cooperation with the underlying objective of promoting sustainable economic development.

In conclusion, Dr, Mossi commented that, "These cooperation plans and the incorporation of the Republic of Korea as a new CABEI member country only constitute the beginning of a successful and advantageous relationship in which the Bank will consolidate its role as a bridge between Korea and the Central American region in order to explore investment opportunities, improve synergies regarding technical cooperation, promote trade and foster knowledge exchange schemes to boost productivity and competitiveness."