The "Buy Korea" brand is being promoted globally
Buy Korea 2010, has been served as one of the world's largest trade fairs for Korean exporters to market their products to a multitude of foreign buyers every year. It is scheduled to be held on March 4 at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
On February 23, to get a preview of Buy Korea 2010, Korea IT Times interviewed Kim Sang-chul, Director General Major Industry & Component Market Development Department of Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), who had been working day and night for Buy Korea 2010.
Kim said, "Buy Korea 2010 will be attended by on-line and off-line clients with a total of 1,000 global buyers and 2,000 Korean exporters. In particular, of the total global buyers, 36 percent are from companies with sales of more than US$100 million, and approximately 30 percent are from companies with sales over US$10 million. Given the high turnout, we expect Korean exporters would ratchet up their international networks with these large-scale global buyers on this occasion.
He added that Buy Korea 2010 would lay the groundwork for South Korea to revamp its brand image and emerge as the eight largest exporter in the world in post-financial crisis period. On that note, Mr. Kim was very happy to talk about the upcoming event, and answered all questions. A transcript of the interview follows.
Q) How does Buy Korea 2010 find favor with global buyers
A) At the beginning, nearly 850 foreign companies applied to attend Buy Korea 2010, so we had to narrow them down to 600 companies. Ninety-nine overseas branches of KOTRA truly played an instrumental role in attracting global buyers. On top of that, 2,000 participating Korean exporters are bombarded with 10,300 one-on-one export consultation appointments, almost three times the maximum of 3,500 consultation appointments. I guess this buzz well illustrates foreign buyers preference for Buy Korea 2010.
Q) Why is Buy Korea preferred by global buyers
A) The high turnout can be explained by several reasons. The biggest reason, I think, is Buy Korea's efficient counseling system. We have made it possible to have one-on-one export consultations with a select group of seven Korean exporters a day to spare foreign buyers the trouble of paying a visit to each company.
This efficiency has resulted in numerous foreign buyers rating our system as a "very efficient and well-organized program". In addition, Buy Korea has been well received by Korean exporters, because participating Korean exporters can enjoy rare opportunities of having one-on-one meetings with influential foreign buyers at near-zero marketing expenses. As you know, most Korean SMEs find it quite burdensome to pay for overseas business trips.
Q) Could you describe the lineup of global buyers attending Buy Korea 2010
A) This time, a total of 600 global buyers will attend Buy Korea 2010. Of the total, 213 buyers are from companies with sales of more than US$100 million. Industry-wise, 180 buyers are from companies engaged in machinery and plants, 120 buyers from those in textile and consumer goods, and 118 from IT and software companies.
The rest are from companies engaged in diverse sectors, ranging from auto parts, medical biotechnology to new renewable energy sources.
Major buyers include the following companies: Russia's third-largest oil company TNK-BP is interested in importing crude oil mining equipment; ABG Shipyard, India's largest private-sector shipyard, attends the fair to purchase shipbuilding equipment and systems; and PAZ, Israel's largest distributor of refined oil products, is interested in buying parts of combined heat and power plants (CHP). Also, China's largest e-commerce website Alibaba will make its presence at the trade fair with the intention of introducing the products of nearly 5,000 Korean companies on its website. Besides, retail giants such as Wal-Mart Canada and Japanet Takata will grace Buy Korea 2010 with their presence too.
Q) Could you give us a brief introduction of scheduled export consultations at Buy Korea 2010
A) At Buy Korea 2010, several export MoUs are scheduled to be signed. In particular, let me touch upon the green industry's export activities. First, an Iranian state-run company informed us of its plan to purchase wind power turbines in its bid to shift power generation away from oil and gas to renewable energy sources. As a result, a Korean company will export 100MW wind turbines worth US$200 million, and years of technology transfer and local production efforts will eventually lead to full-scale exports of South Korea's green industry.
Secondly, exports of solar power plants, worth US$40 million, are in the pipeline. Korean companies will build 10MW solar power plants in Bangladesh, a nation beset by frequent power outages and severe weather conditions. Thirdly, solar panel modules worth US$10 million will be exported to Belgium. This is indeed meaningful as it marks our nation first export of green industry parts for renewable energy to Europe.
Q) What is the difference between Buy Korea 2010 and the previous trade fairs
A) In celebration of Korea's hosting of the G20 Summit, we look to provide a free trade promotion venue, which is in line with South Korea's national brand image. In other words, if some products are not produced locally, we should promote the imported goods. There are 600 buyer booths, 100 booths for foreign exporters at Buy Korea 2010. Through Buy Korea 2010, we would like to project South Korea as one of the leading FTA proponents, shaking off Korea's image as a nation that solely exports, not imports.
