• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 2016

Purpose - Considering industrialization development stages, an economic effect of ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA) on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the ASEAN countries was analyzed. Research design, data, and methodology - utilizing macro-level panel data from 2001 to 2012, panel regression analysis was conducted with a model constructed based on the knowledge-capital model. Results - As for overall ASEAN countries, ASEAN FTA was positively effective to attract vertical FDI to this region, while horizontal FDI was dominant before ASEAN FTA. Meanwhile, for the diversified economy relevant to Singapore, ASEAN FTA was not effective to attract FDI. For the ongoing industrialization economy relevant to Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, ASEAN FTA was negatively effective to attract FDI; ASEAN FTA became a strong incentive to replace foreign investments with trade transactions for the horizontal firms, but an influence of market potentials after ASEAN FTA, which induces to third-country effects such as export platform FDI, has increased. For the incipient industrialization economy relevant to Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, ASEAN FTA was positively effective to attract vertical FDI. Conclusions - The effectiveness of FTA on FDI inflows varied considerably by the industrialization development stages of host countries.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.85-107
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• 2017

The aim of this study is to empirically examine fundamental factors that drive FDI to a particular location. This study further explores operating conditions of Korean firms in Myanmar. A survey methodology and then a regression analysis are employed. The study finds that the factors such as transportation, production factor, market, and cost play an important role for the location of FDI. However, the Korean investment in Myanmar decreases from 2013. The decrease of Korean investment implies that investing in Myanmar has not been profitable. The empirical study finds a complicated pattern of FDI. Large Korean firms are located far from the consumer market, thus, bear an increased transport cost to reach the consumer market. They are rather located in a place where they can access to a transport means and raw materials with low cost to export final products. They place FDI into a host country to serve as a production platform for exports to neighboring countries.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.51-65
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• 2020

According to an analysis of 560 foreign-invested companies investing in South Korea's manufacturing industry, the following three facts were found. First, the proportion of sales by manufacturing foreign-invested companies is divided into 68.5 percent of domestic sales and 31.5 percent of exports. From 68.5 percent of domestic sales, sales to Korean companies are 60.5 percent, including 37.1 percent for large companies and 23.4 percent for small and medium-sized companies, while only 8.0 percent for domestic consumers. Second, the investment sectors of manufacturing foreign-invested enterprises are 'machine and equipment manufacturing', 'chemical and chemical-chemical material manufacturing-excluding pharmaceuticals', 'electronic components, computers, video, sound and communication equipment manufacturing' and 'vehicle and trailer manufacturing'. It overlaps with electric·electronics, petro-chemicals and automobiles, which are Korea's main industries and areas of Korean global companies. Third, 31.5 percent of the sales of foreign-invested companies in the manufacturing sector are exported. Foreign-invested companies export their products to use them for their parents or affiliates or to the third countries. The analysis shows that foreign-invested companies invested in Korea for B2B transactions with Korean companies. The implications are that Korea can attract foreign investments by utilizing Korean companies' demand for intermediate goods. Foreign-invested companies can invest in Korea in order to use Korea, which has signed free trade agreements with the US, the EU and ASEAN, as an export platform.