Special Economic Zone on track for new investment скачать в хорошем качестве

Special Economic Zone on track for new investment

(22 Aug 2012) LEADIN: North Korea is renewing efforts to bring business and investment to a special economic zone in the far northeast of the country, which borders China and Russia. The region is now on track for new roads, highways and an economic zone. STORYLINE: This bustling, booming market is the new vision of North Korea that the authorities are keen to promote. North Korean authorities are making major efforts to open up North Korea's special economic zone, Rason to foreign business and trade. In Rason, special rules apply, which are different to the rest of the country. It is easier for foreigners to visit and hire here. Like in the capital Pyongyang, they can use mobile phones, and the internet. Foreigners are allowed to shop freely in the market, alongside Koreans, paying in Chinese currency. The market is stocked with a wide variety of goods, from food, to household items, clothes, and electronics. It is common to see Russians and Chinese shopping here. Rason city official Kim Yong Nam says that his administration is trying to make it easy for foreigners to do business. "Recently, 1,200 to 1,300 foreigners are in the Rason area for their business. These foreign companies are mainly investing in transit shipment trade, processing for export, tourism, and property development. For this work, the Rason people's committee applies special treatment in various areas, including taxes and tariffs, and residence, on the basis of the laws of the country," he says. The zone is called Rason-short for Rajin Sonbong, the names of the two major cities in the area. One major attraction for Chinese companies here is the port, which allows access to shipping around the year. Northeast China does not have its own sea port-these docks are the closest place for many Chinese companies to put products on boats, and they represent a potential new trade route. North Korea recognised the area as a place for foreign trade in 1991, but it was only in 2011 that North Korea and China signed an agreement for joint development of the region. Local official Kim Yong Nam, Vice Director of the Rason City People's Committee Economic Cooperation Bureau ,emphasises the immediate needs of his region: "Right now, the most important thing is to improve the infrastructure, including electricity supply, transport, and harbour construction, as soon as possible," he says. Life is much better in Rason for ordinary North Koreans than in other areas of the country, which routinely suffer from food shortages, and energy blackouts. The most obvious example of foreign investment in Rason is a Chinese construction site right in the centre of Rajin city. Cranes, lorries and excavators cover a huge area, and construction is underway for a shipping centre and apartment block complex, which should be completed by 2013. The Chinese company behind the development says that it thinks the time is right to invest in North Korea. Company representative, Xiao Meng explains, "Because North Korea is opening up, and the development of China-North Korea trade, we decided to invest here in property development, because here property is not so well-developed. We chose to invest here in property development." But it's not only China that's looking at the potential of this region in North Korea. It also borders Russia, and for many years, authorities in Moscow and Pyongyang have explored the possibilities offered by renovating rail links between the two countries. Russia does not have a port on its east coast which can operate throughout the winter, when icy conditions prevent ship movements. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...