Is South Korea the real investment gem in Asia?

clock • 2 min read

South Korea rose from the ashes of its civil war in the 1950s, when it was one of the poorest nations on earth. Now, despite being a wealthy country, it is still regarded by many as an emerging market.

GDP growth averaged over 10% in real terms in the late 1980s and as the economy has matured, this fell to 5% in the middle of the last decade, to 2%-3% at present. While growth is falling towards Western levels, from a balance sheet perspective, the Korean economy is still strong. External debt is low at 27% of GDP, the current account surplus is 7% of GDP and the country runs a fiscal surplus. Korea's exports have been a major beneficiary of China's economic development - China now accounts for 25% of Korea's exports. These range from traditional areas such as cars and technology to ...

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