Exim focuses on Middle East, North Africa

Finance and Strategy Minister Bahk Jae-wan, seventh from left in first row, and Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) CEO Kim Yong-hwan, sixth from left, poses with Saudi Electricity Company CEO Ali Bin Saleh Al Barrak, eighth from left, and other speakers and guests at an international conference hosted by the state-run lender in the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) hosted an international business conference Wednesday aimed at connecting Korean companies with business executives and finance experts in fast-growing regions in the Middle East and North Africa.
In a keynote speech at the conference, titled “Shaping the relationship between MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and Korea in a new global context,” Korea Eximbank CEO Kim Yong-hwan said its critical Korean companies accelerate their efforts to advance into new markets.

“We are confident that the Korea Eximbank will help companies with our wealth of experience and understanding of the MENA regions, and allow them to gain a competitive advantage,” Kim said.

Economies in the Middle East have been garnering increasing attention from Korean companies and investors thanks to their financial power, boosted significantly due to the rising oil prices. Many of these nations are in the process of pushing massive projects for industrial infrastructure and urban development. This provides many opportunities for Korean businesses, particularly builders.

Hussain Al Nowais, chairman of the United Arab Emirates-based General Holding Corp. (GHC) said Korean companies should increase their efforts to penetrate markets in countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Egypt.

“MENA countries are diverse both in opportunities and challenges. There are business opportunities in oil and gas facilities, infrastructure, power, water, education and transportation,” he said.

Business executives from 12 companies and eight financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa participated in the forum. The attendees included Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), and Riyad Bank, second-largest lender in Saudi Arabia.

Representatives from 30 Korean companies, including Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Samsung Engineering also joined the conference. Diplomats from Egypt, Oman and Jordan took part in the discussions.

Korea Eximbank organized business meetings on the sidelines of the forum, allowing Korean and Middle Eastern businessmen to discuss mutual interests.

“This perhaps is the most critical part of the conference, which could boost sales and exports to the region,” said a high-ranking official of Korea Eximbank.

Bahk Jae-wan, minister of strategy and finance, gave a speech and described the relationship between Korea and the MENA region to date back to the days of the Goryeo Kingdom.

The minister said he hopes the two parties maintain a good relationship by giving the example of the February visit of President Lee Myung-bak to the region.

Financial experts from HSBC and BNP Paribas presented ways to financially enable big projects. Simon Lee, a director from HSBC, examined trends and the outlook on the MENA project finance market, while Simon Putt from BNP Paribas explained funding sources and alternatives of traditional project financing.

Project finance is a method of raising long-term funding for core infrastructure projects such as oil and gas projects using third parties and equity secured and repaid purely from future revenue.  <Korea Times/Kim Jae-won>

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