ASEAN leaders to meet Korean biz leaders

(ATTN: CORRECTS "illion" to "billion" at bottom)
By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Heads of state from members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet with South Korean business leaders
during the upcoming Korea-ASEAN Summit to sound out mutual business and
investment opportunities, a major business lobbying group here said Wednesday.

The so-called CEO Summit will be held on the sidelines of the Korea-ASEAN Summit
set for June 1-2 on the country's southern resort island of Jeju, said the Korea
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the organizer of the two-day meeting.
The ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Some 700 businessmen from South Korea and the ASEAN member countries will
participate in the CEO summit, with heads of state from six ASEAN member nations,
including Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, to attend, the KCCI said.
"The CEO summit is the first of its kind in Korea-ASEAN history," a KCCI official
said, adding that ASEAN is emerging as South Korea's third-largest trading
partner.
At the unusual meeting, businessmen will ask the heads of state to ease or
abolish various business barriers in their countries, while the heads of state
will explain investment environment of their respective countries, the official
said.
In case of Vietnam, six Korean companies, including Kumho Asian, Hana Bank and
Korea Land Corp., have already applied for meetings with the Vietnamese prime
minister, according to the official.
Last year, South Korean companies won US$8.9 billion won worth of construction
orders from ASEAN member nations, and invested $5.9 billion there, the business
body said.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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