Minister To Lead Trade And Investment Mission To Korea

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Bernama) -- The Minister of International Trade and Industry, Mustapa Mohamed, will lead a Trade and Investment Mission to Seoul and Busan, Korea, from July 16-19. He will be accompanied by government officials, state government representatives and a business delegation. The mission is a follow-up to the official visit by the Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, to Korea last month and to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) from that country in the green technology sector, information and communication technology (ICT)as well as solar power and automotive industry. The visit is also to explore the prospects of increasing the export of chemicals and chemical products, electronics and electrical (E&E) components and raw petroleum to Korea. Programmes scheduled during the trip include individual meetings with Korean companies and a business seminar on investment opportunities in Malaysia. Mustapa, will on the sidelines of the Trade and Investment Mission, sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral industrial cooperation with Sukwoo Hong, the Korean Minister of Knowledge Economy. Last year, trade with Korea decreased 7.6 per cent to US$16.01 billion compared to US$16.46 billion in 2010. Exports, valued at US$8.44 billion, grew by 6.1 per cent while imports worth US$7.57 billion decreased by 19.2 per cent. Major exports to Korea were E& E products (US$1.9 billion or 22 per cent of Malaysia's total exports), Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) (US$1.8 billion or 21.7 per cent) and crude petroleum (US$0.9 billion or 10.9 per cent). From January to May this year, total trade between Malaysia and Korea amounted to US$6.49 billion, a decrease of 4.8 per cent, compared to US$6.91 billion in the corresponding period of 2011. During the same period, exports decreased by 3.6 per cent to US$3.40 billion while imports decreased 6.1 per cent to US$3.10 billion. Last year, Korea was the second largest foreign investor with approved investments of US$1.6 billion in 10 projects, of which seven were new, and three expansion projects. From January to May this year, a total of eight projects in the manufacturing sector with Korean participation were approved with an investment of US$182 million. Major areas of implemented projects are E & E products, transport equipment, basic metal products and fabricated metal products. -- BERNAMA