DUBAI/SEOUL, 9 November 2006 — The governor of the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), Dr. Omar bin Sulaiman, told the Seoul International Business Advisory Council (SIBAC) that they could look to Dubai and the UAE as a key trade partner to help both financial hubs prosper in the future. Dr. Omar addressed SIBAC in his keynote speech at the organization’s annual meeting in Seoul, South Korea.
SIBAC is an important advisory body established to advise the Seoul metropolitan government on a range of issues, including the development of Seoul as a major business hub in northeast Asia. SIBAC sees Dubai as the ideal benchmark, having established itself as a highly credible destination for investment and financial services, with a reputation for modern technology and infrastructure. Dr. Omar was invited as a representative of Dubai to talk about its internationally acclaimed success.
The UAE and South Korea have enjoyed strong business relations in recent years. DP World holds a 25 percent stake in South Korea’s Pusan container terminal and was in talks about participating in Gwangyang ports. South Korean firms have secured export orders worth $8.7 billion into the UAE in 2005, up 222 percent from $2.7 billion in 2004.
The UAE is South Korea’s second largest supplier of crude oil, having shipped 150 million barrels of oil in 2005. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) now hopes to use South Korea as an oil storage centre to supply oil throughout Asia, much as South Korea’s chaebol’s (business conglomerates) have used Dubai to penetrate the Middle East.