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As Jisun mentioned earlier, a business forum was also held on the sidelines of the summit
on Monday. It was an opportunity for Korean companies,
especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to meet and do business with Mexican and foreign
partners. Kwon Jang-Ho has this report.
While President Park Geun-hye and President Enrique Pena Nieto announced they would work
towards a bilateral trade agreement, Korean businesses were preparing to meet with Mexican
and foreign business partners at a forum organized by the two governments.
At the first of such forums between the two countries since 2010, 95 Korean businesses
were present -- mostly small and medium sized companies coming from various sectors, such
as car parts manufacturing, consumer goods and electronics.
On the buyer's side, over a hundred and eighty representatives from local branches of car
manufacturers, such as Ford and BMW, to retailers like Amazon Mexico.
Over four-hundred and fifty individual meetings took place, and a total of 33 deals were made,
worth 86-million U.S. dollars. A similar business forum took place in Los
Angeles on Saturday, and together over two hundred and fifty million dollars worth of
deals were signed.
The forums have been considered a success at championing SMEs and startups that have
received support from the Korean government through its 'Creative Technology Innovation
Centers' launched last year. One of its biggest success stories has been
"Marine Techno," a cosmetics company that specializes in products made from marine collagen.
It was one of the first to benefit from a government backed crowdfunding website launched
in January, reaching its funding goal in a day.
The company attended both forums in L.A. and Mexico and signed five MOU's worth 560-thousand
dollars. Korea and Mexico are planning to resume FTA
talks by the end of the year, and Korean businesses are hoping they go without a hitch, so they
are able to explore further business opportunities between the two countries.
Kwon Jang-Ho, Arirang News.