BUSAN < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

Busan and China had seen a fivefold increase in their bilateral trade for a decade since 2000.

A report, titled "Progress in Economic Relations between Busan and China" and released by Busan Branch of the Bank of Korea (BOK), said that Busan's exports to China had quadrupled from $723 million in 2000 to $2.772 billion in 2011.

China was responsible for 19 percent of Busan's total exports, up 15 percent in 2000.

The country has emerged as Busan's largest export market, overtaking Japan in 2003.

Busan's imports from China had also increased more than six times from $728 million in 2000 to $4.527 billion in 2011.

China has become Busan's largest import market, accounting for 30.8 percent of Busan's total imports in 2011, up from 18.3 percent in 2000.

In 2011, Busan Port handled 3.92 million Chinese containers (6 meters), which is 24.4 percent of Busan Port's annual capacity.

The port has seen an annual increase of 9.2 percent since 2000 when it handled 1.627 Chinese containers.

This is two percentage points higher than Busan Port's container traffic increase of 7.3 percent.

In addition, the number of Chinese tourists to Busan had risen more than 3.2 times from 149,000 in 2000 to 476,000 in 2011.

During the period, the number of Japanese tourists dropped 1.4 percent while Chinese tourists recorded an annual growth of 11.1 percent on average.

Busan's export items have changed from low-value finished products including textile, leather and fabrics in 2000 to high added value intermediary goods including automobiles and their components, steel and machinery in 2011.

As of 2011, intermediary goods were comprised of about 60 percent of Busan's export items to China.

The BOK analyzed that Busan's exports to China generated 5.7 trillion won-worth production, 2 trillion won-worth added value and 51,000 jobs.

The production and employment were responsible for 3.7 percent of Busan's total production (155 trillion won as of 2010) and 3.2 percent of its jobs (1.574 million as of 2011), respectively.

The report analyzed that considering the interrelated bilateral economic relation, the government needs to establish a network with China to facilitate the bilateral trade and provide administrative supports to enhance the competitiveness of Busan's manufacturing and logistics industries and develop tourism products customized to the needs of Chinese tourists.

"As a huge market with the potential to maintain its rapid economic growth, China will offer various business opportunites to Busan. We need to take advantage of the opportunities to boost our regional economy," said Kim Min-su at the Economy Team of the BOK.

Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (May 14, 2011)

** This is an English translation of a Korean text.