Japanese firm to invest US$1 bln in S. Korea

SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- A Japanese company has agreed to invest US$1 billion
in South Korean property or stocks, a South Korean government trade agency said
Thursday.

Human Harmony & International Partners Japan, which specializes in property
development, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Trade-Investment
Promotion Agency to form a fund for the planned investment, the agency said in a
statement.
Human Harmony became the latest Japanese company to invest in South Korea and
take advantage of the Japanese currency's strength against the Korean won.
Over the past year, the yen has advanced about 60 percent against the won,
helping South Korea attract Japanese tourists and investment deals from the
island nation.
Last week, Japanese private equity fund Vana World signed a preliminary deal to
invest $3 billion into a free economic zone west of Seoul, the South Korean
agency said earlier.
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