MUHYIDDIN'S VISIT RESTORES CONFIDENCE AMONG KOREAN INVESTORS

From Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin

SEOUL, July 29 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's
four-day official visit to South Korea which ended Thursday has boosted the
confidence of investors and conglomerates from the republic to invest in
Malaysia.

Muhyiddin, who also met captains of industry during his four-day visit said
investment pledges were received by the Malaysian Investment Development
Authority from 15 conglomerates, including the Samsung Group, who are keen to
explore new ventures like green technology, solar energy, renewable energy and
biotechnology.

Korea had also expressed interest in defence equipment, shipbuilding,
petro-chemicals, refinery, electrical vehicles, food and beverages as well as
open overseas headquarters.

Samsung Group had expressed interest in solar energy, light-emitting diodes
(LED), defence equipment and shipbuilding.

Muhyiddin's initiative and determination to draw investment from Korea was
clearly evident since a round-table meeting with captains of industries in South
Korea was one of the main agendas during the visit which started on Monday.

Fourteen presidents, chairmen and chief executive officers of multi-national
companies in the republic attended the meeting, including Samsung, Korean Air,
Cheong Wa Dae, KISWIRE Group, V-ENS Co. Ltd. and Honam Petrochemical
Corporation.

Muhyiddin who was previously the Minister of International Trade and
Industry, said they (Koren investors) were confident with Malaysia as a country
which has exceptional facilities, infrastructure needed and the special
incentives offered to investors.

Samsung Group Malaysia president Lee Sang-Bai who is also chairman of
the Korean Chamber of Commerce Malaysia, described Malaysia as a country located
in the "centre" and was an ideal place to invest due to the good existing trade
partnership.

"Malaysia is truly Asia. It has all the necessities needed as a trade
partner in Asia," said Lee.

South Korea's investment interests in Malaysia over the past two years has
increased by 130 percent to US$133.2 million (RM426.107) in 2009 when the entire
world was facing an economic gloom.


Two-way trade between Malaysia and South Korea had also increased in recent
years, and is now the sixth biggest trading partner and seventh highest foreign
investor in Malaysia last year.

Investments in Malaysia had also increased to US$6.6 billion (RM21 billion)
in the first five months, an increase of 46.9 percent, compared with US$4.5
billion (RM14.3 billion) last year.

Muhyiddin said South Korea's investment in electronic and electrical,
petroleum, steel and wood products was worth US$2.62 billion and offers job
opportunities to 42,000 Malaysians.

The Deputy Prime Minister also hoped South Korea would be able to fully
utilize the opportunities available under the New Economic Model (NEM) by
investing and increasing its investments for a long term.

Muhyiddin who is also Education Minister was also confident that Malaysia
would enhance its ties with South Korea in the education sector through the vast
use of ICT in the teaching and education system of schools.


He said a Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by year end, would cover
curriculum, teachers' education, vocational and technical sectors, and sports
and ICT in schools.

Muhyiddin said his visit had also helped him to have an in-depth look at the
National Education Information System (NEIS) that was developed to link all
schools in the country through a computer network.

He was amazed with the system that links 40,000 schools in the country and
allows parents to monitor the development of their children in schools and
interact with the teachers and headmasters through the internet.

NEIS was developed by the Korean Education and Research Information Service
(KERIS), an organisation under South Korea's Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology.

The high level visit also commemorates the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's
diplomatic relations with South Korea since February 23, 1960.

He also expects the number of tourists from the republic to increase
tremendously in the coming years, when AirAsia operates daily from Kuala
Lumpur-Seoul in November.

About 250,000 tourists from South Korea visit Malaysia every year and
currently about 20,000 are residing in the Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA