‘Korea has amazing potential for increased economic cooperation with Colombia’

By Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu, reporter, The Korea Post

“Korea has amazing potential for increased cooperation for mutual benefit and this is because the economies of the two countries are complementary to each other from each stage of development,” said CEO Miguel Carrillo of Hamkke Consulting.

Speaking at a recent interview with The Korea Post, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language media since 1985, Carrilloa added, “And, of course, that implies some trade-offs in both countries.”

Then he said, “For Colombia, the Korean market is very attractive for its high purchasing power, which could absorb Colombia’s industrial and agricultural competitive products. Moreover, having Korea as a commercial partner will give access to the country to a world-class supplier.

“Foreign direct investment and cooperation from Korea to Colombia are highly expected because of the new business and economic environment that keep improving in Colombia, and the need to involve international players who can help to build the country’s infrastructure and explore in an environmentally responsible way the mineral resources.”
Carrillo spoke on a wide range of topics at the interview.

Details follow:

Question: Mr. Carrillo, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Answer: Thank you for the invitation Fatih. My name is Miguel CARRILLO, received Bs Finance and Foreign Trade and MBA from SKKU with the Korean Government Scholar. Currently, I am having 15 years of experience in public and private companies in Colombia in areas such as corporate finance, internationalization, social impact projects, strategy consulting, among others. But the titles that I love the most are husband and father.

Q: What are the main projects of the Hamkke Consultation?
A: Hamkke Consulting was founded in 2012, when I returned from Korea, after completing my MBA studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. Hamkke has four strategic business lines as follows: Strategy and Management Consulting, Corporate Financial Services, Government and Institutions Projects, and International Business focus on Korea and North East Asia.

Q: Would you like to mention about Colombia’s contributions to the Korean War?
A: Colombia and Korea began a close relationship since Colombia became the only Latin American country which participated in the Korean War.
The first of four Colombian battalions arrived in Korea in June 1951. The fourth battalion stayed in Korea until October 1955. This relationship created bonds of brotherhood, that I witnessed on a daily basis when I lived there.

Q: Is it the impact of FTA in the economic interaction when you compare the past periods?
A: KOR-COL FTA is in force since 2016. Korea buys from Colombia mainly minerals, metals, and coffee. On the other hand, Colombia buys from Korea mainly transport vehicles, chemicals and plastics, machinery and electronics. Even though economic interaction is increasing every year, in my opinion, last periods have been of stagnation. Both countries had internal political and economic challenges that are just overcoming, and the amazing potential I believe the FTA enclose, has not taken off yet.

Q: Which sectors are attractive for the Korean investors in Colombia?
A: Colombia is a country under construction, not only in infrastructure but also in other sectors such agriculture, mining, manufacturing, IT, health, among others that are looking to be efficiency driven in order to be more competitive worldwide.
Therefore, Korean investors have plenty of opportunities in Colombia. If they do it within a strategic plan, their ROI-Return on Investment could be amazing.

Q: Similarly, could you please tell us which sectors are attractive for the Colombian investors in Korea?
A: For Colombian investors, Korea´s purchasing power is highly attractive for many sectors, for example, food, beauty, leather, and fashion items among others with high value-added, that can look for a premium market niche.
On the other hand, companies can look for joint ventures, synergies, collaboration, and global value chains in 4.0 Industries.

Q: As Hamkke Consulting, what are your future plans about Korea?
A: We have been working for almost seven years explaining the amazing potential of Korea. Our dream is to be the best option for Korean & Colombian companies to design and execute the best strategic plans to conquer each market.
Building bridges for cultural understanding and creating awareness about amazing potential Korea has to enter the Latin-American market thorough Colombia, and Colombia to enter the Asian Market thorough Korea.

Q: Do you have any expectation or request from the Korean investors or the Korean government?
A: In our experience, we have seen many potential business agreements failed because of business cultural differences, and lack of good integral strategies to be successful. Also, the high investment Korean investors expend sending in-house teams to explore the Colombian Market without success. These scenarios can be avoided with a trustworthy advisor such as Hamkke.

Q: Finally, do you have anything to add?
A: My deepest gratitude to the Korean Government and its people, for everything I learned from them, the friendships I made, and the inspiration to build a company (함께) "Together", as the pillar of our company.