Bangkok, Oct 18 (IANS) Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il has stressed South Korea’s economic growth is set to gain further momentum amid the chip supercycle during meetings with officials from global credit rating agencies, his office said on Sunday.
Lee met separately with senior officials from three global credit rating agencies — Moody’s, Fitch and S&P — on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Bangkok, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy, reports Yonhap news agency.
The meetings involved Marie Diron, global head of Moody’s Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Risk Group; James Longsdon, global group head of Sovereign and Supranational Ratings at Fitch Ratings; and Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, global head of sovereign analytics and research at S&P Global Ratings.
According to the ministry, the finance minister briefed them on South Korea’s recent economic performance.
He said South Korea is projected to grow at the 3 percent range this year, supported by solid chip exports and increased facility investment, with the growth momentum expected to strengthen over the medium to long term.
Lee added that the government will spare no effort to develop future growth engines through government-led initiatives, including the three megaprojects and the green transition.
To achieve sustainable growth, Lee emphasised the need to address economic disparities as the government pursues measures to support vulnerable groups in three key areas — housing, jobs and financial services.
The government is also working to narrow disparities among businesses, generations, income groups and regions.
The finance ministry said the three credit rating agencies expressed keen interest in how the South Korean government plans to use strong tax revenues from the chip supercycle. Lee explained details of the Future Fund, which will launch next year.
The credit rating agencies noted the supercycle in the semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) industries has helped South Korea cope with other challenges, such as population aging and the war in the Middle East.
They said South Korea maintains stable economic indicators and sound public finances, noting their assessments of Asia’s No. 4 economy remain stable, according to the ministry.
Meanwhile, Lee met with senior officials from multilateral development banks, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), and signed separate memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to enhance exchanges in AI.
—IANS
na/
