SUWON — Suwon has turned to Southeast Asia to help local exporters hurt by trade disruption in the Middle East.
The city said on the 21st that it is running the Suwon Middle East Alternative Export Pioneer Group in Indonesia and Singapore, after the prolonged war between the United States and Iran worsened conditions for exports to the region.
The mission is designed to reduce reliance on the Middle East and secure new trade footholds linked to a Muslim consumer market of 2 billion people. The target countries are Indonesia and Singapore, two of the main import markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The city opened applications in May and selected 10 small and midsize manufacturers based in Suwon that make Korean Wave products or hold competitive technology.
The mission is being run with local trade organizations. Participating companies visit the premises of buyers whose credibility has been verified by the host cities and hold tailored export consultations to look for sales channels.
The companies held talks with 50 buyers in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the 20th and visited local business sites to assess the competitiveness of their products and the scope for cooperation.
The group moves to Singapore on the 22nd for additional export talks with 50 local buyers, and will visit buyers' premises on the 23rd to examine specific deal prospects.
Singapore and Indonesia are seen as key hubs in the Muslim trade bloc. Singapore is the largest import market among ASEAN countries and Indonesia the third largest. The city expects both to help meaningfully in finding alternatives to the Middle East.
Suwon provided credit information in advance, including the financial standing and trading histories of the buyers, so that companies could enter the talks with greater confidence. The city said this would lower transaction risk for participants and improve the outcome of the consultations.
The 10 participating companies are Glofex, Magpie Tech, Braintech, Arong Eltech, Athenaex, STC, H&S BioLab, Okco Global, Curagen and Chromach. Their products range from cosmetics and medical devices to diagnostic platforms, molds and measuring instruments.
"We hope this mission becomes an occasion to introduce excellent Korean Wave products to the Muslim world," a Suwon city official said. "We will actively support local companies in diversifying their export markets."