Poland and Korea Increase Financial Cooperation. Defence and Nuclear Purposes

According to the Financial Supervision Authority, on 25th March, at its seat, a meeting was held between Kim Joo-Hyun - head of the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC), and Jacek Jastrzębski, Head of the Financial Supervision Authority. The event also involved representatives of the Bank Supervisory Department of the FSA and of the International Cooperation Department and International Finance Branch at FSC.

“The visit inaugurates supervisory relations between the Polish and Korean financial supervisory organs. This is tied to the growing interest on the part of the Korean entrepreneurs, in launching business in Poland, which also entails the interest in Poland expressed by the Korean banks. During the meeting, matters of planned memorandum on cooperation between the Polish and Korean banking sectors were discussed. The Polish Financial Supervision Authority launched the initiative to conclude the memorandum. Organization of joint seminars and education programmes, covering the business and cooperation of SMEs were also discussed”, the FSA reports.

The Korean FSC mentioned, in its release, that the Parties agreed on the necessity of launching cooperation of the financial sectors, in the wake of expanded defence and nuclear energy cooperative efforts. Kim Joo-hyunm also met the representatives of Korean businesses present in Poland on Tuesday, 26th March. The companies come from the defence, automotive, and electric car battery sectors. He got acquainted with the business conditions, and financing challenges, also assuring that support of financing export sales is one of the government’s priorities. One may expect that cooperation of the state financial supervisory bodies will facilitate the Korean banking sector’s involvement in Poland, paving the way towards financing investments via the Korean banks.

Recently the Korean Parliament increased the EXIM Bank’s (state investment bank) capital, to provide extra funds for loans, tied to the Polish defence procurement efforts. As Defence24.pl was told by Sung Il, South Korean Deputy Minister of Defence, the extra financing would allow Poland to get a loan worth USD 8.5 bn., from EXIM Bank. In parallel, a consolidated offer was prepared involving commercial banks, for USD 7.5 bn.

This amounts to USD 16 bn. in total, available to finance further performance contracts. Poland received USD 10 bn. of loan, to finance the first phase. This week, the Deputy Minister of Defence Sung Il met the Deputy Head of the Polish Ministry of State Assets, Marcin Kulasek. During the talks, various topics were covered, like the manufacturing of the K2PL main battle tanks, cooperation regarding the manufacturing of 155 mm munitions, and the conditions tied to the transfer of technologies.

On 27th March the Korean Deputy-Minister of Defence also met his Polish counterpart, Paweł Bejda. “The talks covered the broad aspect of cooperation between our states, including, in particular, the contracts that are underway, and planned to be executed, regarding the inventory of the Polish Armed Forces”, the Polish Ministry of Defence reported.