LOC10:33
07:33 GMT
TOKYO, Feb 15 (KUNA) -- Dubai is seeking to invest up to USD 20 billion in
South Korea under the incoming president's government, the head of the
Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) said in Seoul Friday.
Mohammed Al-Shaibani, the chief executive officer of the ICD, made the
comments during a meeting with President-elect Lee Myung-bak in his office,
Yonhap News Agency reported.
Al-Shaibani is on his trip to the South Korean captial to deliver a
personal letter from Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, to Lee, containing a
congratulatory message on his win and hopes of stronger ties between the two
countries.
"As the chairman of an investment firm, I ask for your cooperation in
making large investments in my country," Lee was quoted as telling ICD chief.
Al-Shaibani gave a positive answer to Lee's request, saying, "My country is
planning to set up a fund of USD 20 billion to invest in South Korea."
Lee, a former CEO of Hyundai Construction and Engineering, has been
pledging to form a "business-friendly" government, seeking ways of boosting
foreign investment in South Koream the report said. Lee will be inaugurated on
February 25.
Lee has been striving to induce investment from Dubai, appointing David
Eldon, chairman of Dubai International Financial Center Authority, as
co-chairman of a special committee under his transition team last month. Eldon
is the first non-Korean to take such a prominent position in South Korea's
presidential transition committee.
Foreign investment dropped 6.5 percent year-on-year to USD 10.5 billion
last year from USD 11.2 billion in 2006, according to recent data from the
Ministry of Commerce. The figure stood at USD 11.6 billion in 2005.
During his visit, Al-Shaibani also reviewed an envisioned investment in
large-scale projects promoted by the incoming Lee government including the
Saemangeum land reclamation plan, it said.
Saemangeum is South Korea's largest area of tidal flats of some 40,
100-hectares, and Lee vows to use the newly created land space to build a
contemporary city like Dubai by devoting more of the land to industrial
projects. (end)
mk.ema
KUNA 151033 Feb 08NNNN