Gov't agencies should cooperate in holding overseas IR events: finance minister

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance minister called Thursday for
more efforts to be made in sharing information among government agencies in
holding overseas investor relation (IR) events to better explain and promote the
nation's economy to potential foreign investors.
"As shown in the Greece case where distrust in its fiscal deficit data results in
distrust in its overall economy, it is important to make efforts to deliver
accurate information on our economy to foreign investors as their interest is
growing ahead of our hosting of the Group of 20 summit," Yoon Jeung-hyun was
quoted as saying by the finance ministry to a meeting with other economy-related
ministers in central Seoul.
He also called for related central and regional governments, state-run financial
institutes and other agencies to cooperate in "effectively" organizing IR events
overseas.
South Korea plans to hold 264 such overseas events this year, up 29 percent from
last year, the ministry said. Of them, 74 percent will be held in the United
States, Japan and Europe.
There have been calls for the government to establish a network among its
agencies through which they can share information and feedback before and after
an overseas IR gathering, helping prevent money and time from being wasted in
promoting the nation's economy.
Touching on current economic conditions at home and abroad, Yoon said that the
debt issue in some European countries underlined that the global economic
recovery is not yet on a solid footing, adding that the government will "closely"
watch market developments to effectively cope with any unexpected situations.
Yoon was quoted as saying that the government will have to strengthen cooperation
with countries in the Middle East and Africa as part of its efforts to expand its
"horizon" for mid- and long-term growth.
He also told the meeting that the government will work hard to complete its joint
research with industry experts and academia on a free trade deal with China by
the first half of this year, accelerating a drive for regional economic
integration.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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