S Korea medical equipment firm eyes Cambodian base
S Korea medical equipment firm eyes Cambodian base
Seoul-based healthcare and medical equipment manufacturer ASKO Co Ltd has expressed a keen interest in launching a factory in Cambodia to meet the booming international demand, Cambodian ambassador to South Korea Long Dimanche said on Sunday.
ASKO, which operates as the Person & People Group and is behind the ASMedi brand of devices, is renowned for their negative air pressure purifiers and portable negative air machines, especially in the context of the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory disease and environmental changes.
According to ASKO, it “specialises in manufacturing and distributing equipment and consumable supplies for infection control for medical facilities, biological laboratories” and other such establishments.
Dimanche told The Post that its strategic geographical location, diverse and skilled labour force, stable political climate and investment law improvements have wooed more South Korean investors to Cambodia.
This, he said, is in line with South Korea’s New Southern Policy, which aims to enhance the country’s ties to ASEAN and its member states.
He added that the intensifying Sino-US trade row and Covid-19 also contributed to Korean investors shifting their focus to the Kingdom.
After several meetings, he said, Person & People Group’s management expressed their strong interest in opening a factory in Cambodia and boosting their production capacity and exports.
“Thus far, I’ve met with company management three times to explain to them the opportunities, potential and favourable investment law provided in Cambodia,” he said, adding that the company exclusively manufactures their devices in South Korea.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng lauded Korean and Japanese investors for meticulously analysing the political situation and investment law prior to venturing into a new country to determine its riskiness.
He told The Post that Cambodia enjoys preferential tariffs on a number of its exports to major markets such as the US, Europe and China.
“I’ve witnessed a steady rise recently in the number of Korean companies investing in Cambodia across all sectors, especially in agriculture,” Heng said.
