Jafza seeks to strengthen bilateral trade ties with Korea

Korea is one of Jafza's key partners. In the last twelve years the bilateral trade between Korea and Jafza has quadrupled but we would like the trade volume to grow in multiples in the next five years.

This will be possible when Korean presence in the Free Zone, consequently in the region, grows strongly, said Ibrahim Mohamed Al Janahi, Deputy CEO of Jafza and Chief Commercial Officer of Economic Zones World (EZW), the parent company of Jafza, speaking at the recent Customer Forum for Korean companies Jafza held at the Free Zone.

"Since the turn of the century Korea-Jafza bilateral trade has more than quadrupled to cross US$2.25 billion, but for a global industrial leader like South Korea, this trade volume needs to grow in multiples in the coming years.

"The Middle East is one of the richest and the fastest growing regions in the world. The countries in the region want to diversify their economy and are currently focused on building key economic and social infrastructure to help them develop their non-oil income generation capabilities. The combined investment of these countries is estimated to cross US$4 trillion in the next ten years. The changing dynamics in the region provide huge opportunities to Korean companies. We want Korean companies in Jafza to capitalize on the emerging opportunities and also to attract more Korean businesses to the Free Zone who could extend their presence in this dynamic region," Ibrahim Al Janahi said.

Jafza had held the Customer Forum to initiate a dialogue with the Korean companies in the Free Zone to find how Jafza and the Korean companies can work together to capitalize on the emerging opportunities.

In his detailed presentation Adil Al Zarooni, Senior Vice President, Sales, briefed the attendees about various new developments at the Free Zone to enhance the industry's operational efficiency and the huge business opportunities in the region.

The Forum was attended by a large number of leading Korean companies at the Free Zone such as Hyundai Steel, Kia Motors, LG Electronics, Samsung, Mobis, Daewoo International, G-Buildings, among others, HE the Consul General of Korea in Dubai, and senior officials from Korea Trade Promotion Agency (KOTRA). Senior Jafza officials and Jafza's key service partners such as Dubai Customs, DP World, Dubai Trade, Dubai Chamber, Trakhees and others, addressed customer issues and queries pertaining to their respective areas.

Jafza is currently home to 54 leading Korean multi-nationals, which includes 4 Global Fortune 500 enterprises. The UAE is today, South Korea's largest export market in the Middle East. The total bilateral trade between the two countries reached $22bn in 2011, which included UAE's Oil dominated exports worth $14.75bn and Korea's exports (all non-oil products) of $7.26bn.

Jafza accounted for almost 30% of Korea's exports into the UAE in 2011, largely meant for re-exports; the remainder was for domestic market. South Korean companies are now involved in many key projects in the country from nuclear power to infrastructure.

Korea's exports consists machinery, electrical and electronics equipment, automotive and automotive parts, prepared foodstuff and base metal and products.