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KOTRA MAKES WAY FOR
KOREAN BUSINESSES TO
EXPAND CONSUMER
BASE IN POLAND
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On June 29, the Ministry of Trade,
Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the
Korea Trade-Investment Promotion
Agency (KOTRA) kicked off Korea Expo
2017 in Warsaw, Poland to help Korean
companies enter the European market.
The two-day event connecting Korean
firms and global buyers was the largest of
its kind since 1989, when Korea and
Poland established diplomatic relations. It
convened a total of 450 buyers from 25
countries and 62 Korean small and medium enterprises specializing in cosmetics,
food products, daily goods and medical
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devices. A variety of programs were
offered, including one-on-one business
meetings, a Korea-Poland business partnership forum and a corporate social
responsibility (CSR) session. Most
notably, the forum explored ways to facilitate cooperation in trade and investment
between the two countries.
Poland is currently Korea’s largest
export market in Eastern Europe, thanks to
the growing popularity of Korean products. In 2016, Korea’s exports to Poland
recorded USD 2.91 billion, up 3.7 percent
from a year earlier.
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KOTRA PUBLISHES
COLLECTION OF
COLLECTION OF
COMPANY SUCCESS
CASES
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On July 4, KOTRA published its 2017
Collection of Foreign-invested Company
Success Stories. The book is a collection
of interviews with companies that were
first published in KOTRA’s monthly
English magazine, KOTRA Express, for
the past three years.
The companies in the collection noted
that Korea is one of the best locations to
manufacture world-class products.
Moreover, with a free trade agreement
network covering 75 percent of global territory, the businesses were using Korea as
a bridgehead to advance into major
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markets around the world. Some of the
companies that were interviewed include
TUV SUD Korea, Panasonic Korea and
Toray Advanced Materials Korea.
"Foreign-invested companies take up
only 2.1 percent of the businesses in
Korea, but they play a significant role in
the local economy, accounting for 21 percent of all exports and 5.8 percent of
employment,” said Kim Yong Kook, head
of Invest KOREA. “I hope the collection
will help Koreans see foreign-invested
companies in a new light by highlighting
their positive effects.”
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KOREA BRAND &
ENTERTAINMENT
EXPO UTILIZES KOREAN
WAVE TO ATTRACT
HONG KONG BUYERS
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From July 12 to 14, the Korea Brand &
Entertainment Expo (KBEE) was held at
the Asia World Expo in Hong Kong.
Hosted by MOTIE and organized by
KOTRA, the event invited 350 foreign
buyers interested in working with Korean
companies specializing in products and
services in the Korean cultural industry.
Thanks to growing demand for Korean
products in Hong Kong, over 103 Korean
companies met with buyers to showcase
their cultural
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goods during special pitching events. Nine MOUs were also signed during the expo.
A number of events took place on the
sidelines of the event, including K-pop
performances and business consultation
sessions to help prospective exporters
enter the Hong Kong and Chinese market.
Participants also had the opportunity to
learn more about Korea’s beauty and fashion products through hands-on programs
and art collaboration exhibitions.
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KOREAN SMES SEEK TO
JOIN WALMART’S
SUPPLY CHAIN
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KOTRA held the Walmart Power
Vendor 1:1 Business Meeting in
Bentonville, Arkansas, to help Korea’s
promising consumer goods companies
enter the retail supply chain of the United
States.
During the event held on July 18,
KOTRA provided opportunities for 12
Korean suppliers to have in-depth business meetings with nine Walmart vendors.
Walmart selected these Korean participants out of 70 applicants, based on price, quality and innovation.
Business consultation services were also
offered for a variety of sectors, including
food and beverage, beauty products,
household
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essentials and packaging supplies.
In particular, Walmart buyers were
especially interested in innovative Korean
products ranging from new packaging
materials, foldable plastic boxes for long-
term use and heated lunch boxes.
In regards to the event, Joonhwa Bin,
director general of KOTRA’s Korea
Business Center in Dallas, said that
KOTRA is slated to assist the expansion
of Korean companies in the American
retail market by hosting additional export
consultations with Central Market, the
largest gourmet grocery store chain in
Texas owned by HEB Grocery Company.