KOTRA Changsha Branch established

On Sept 23, the KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) Changsha Branch was officially established.

Lee Woon-ho, the director of the Trade Policy Division for the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Guo Kailang, vice governor of Hunan province, and Luo Xinguo, deputy director-general of the department of commerce in the Hunan province attended the opening ceremony.

Founded in 1962, KOTRA is a non-profit government agency that promotes Korean trade and investment. It carries out a variety of activities, such as overseas market surveys and expansions, attracts foreign investments and provides overseas investment services. It now has 111 overseas branches, 17 of which are in China.

At the opening ceremony, Director Lee Woon-ho said that the communication between South Korea and Hunan is highlighted by tourism. Though an average of 1,000 Koreans visit Hunan every day, the trade and economic exchanges between the two sides have still yet to bud. Hunan boasts a large potential for economic development and he expected that the establishment of the KOTRA Changsha Branch will enhance bilateral trade and economic exchanges.

On behalf of the Hunan provincial government, Luo Xinguo delivered a speech and introduced the growing mutual relations. In 2010, the total volume of foreign trade between Hunan and South Korea had reached $800 million, a 54 percent rise from 2009.

There were nine Korean enterprises investing in Hunan with a contracted foreign capital of $91.14 million. Meanwhile, Hunan-based enterprises actively invested and developed in South Korea, with a total contracted investment of $2.65 million in 2010.

The establishment of the Changsha Branch would promote the cooperation and communication between the two sides in such fields as trade, tourism and culture.