Is risk-free investment possible in South Korea, the world’s 11th-ranked economy? The “Internationalisation a Click Away” project created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Unioncamere Emilia-Romagna, will be available to Italian firms as of 23 May precisely to answer that question.
The project – webinars focused specifically on five countries: Indonesia, South Korea, South Africa, the Philippines and Angola – has a two-fold objective: to encourage opportunities for understanding and development to stimulate growth, and to test a work method using the web, innovative and efficient cost-effective tool, perfect for tapping into the advantages offered by IT in order to direct businesses toward the best opportunities.
South Korea particularly open to international trade
South Korea is a market especially open to international trade showing a double-digit growth rate in imports, and one that has been much more accessible for some time now as a result of an EU/Seoul free trade agreement. The country will take centre stage on 23 May for the “Internationalisation a Click Away” webinar whose key tool is the organization of virtual B2Bs that, thanks to the involvement of respective networks (Chambers of Commerce, Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad, embassies, consulates and agencies for the foreign promotion and internationalisation of businesses), are able to offer a point of contact and information between Italian firms and their South Korean partners.
Three key sectors: tourism, retail distribution, home furnishings
The three key sectors the 23 May webinar plans to focus on are tourism, retail distribution and home furnishings; the agenda is packed with speeches, all accessible live on-line, by speakers such as MFA Deputy Director General and Central for Internationalisation Inigo Lambertini, Italian Ambassador to Seoul Sergio Mercuri and a variety of qualified sector experts. The webinar’s two focal points will be based in Seoul – desk coordinated by Ambassador Mercuri – and in Rome at the foreign ministry under the coordination of the Directorate General for Country Promotion.
Involvement of E-Mart, a South Korean group with its eye on ‘made in Italy’
Economic world speakers will include (for the retail distribution sector) Christopher Callahan, Senior Vice-President of the E-Mart Group, the largest major retail distribution group in South Korea, which has shown a specific interest in widening its range of products imported from Italy (i.e. children’s clothing, hats and scarves, bags, backpacks and belts). Bearing witness to the fact that, for firms that export – an overall 192,000, a small number compared with the total operating – South Korea can turn out to be a frontier of opportunity.
How to follow the webinar live
To follow the webinar live just register in the Webinar section of infoMercatiEsteri (http://www.infomercatiesteri.it/webinar.php). Those interested may already submit questions on themes of interest that will later be addressed during the webinar.
