By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
The Seoul administration is striving to help exporters wade into the Indian market through an Internet-enabled marketing blitz, spearheaded by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).
Toward that end, the state-sponsored agency said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India's foremost business-to-business online marketplace Tradeindia.com.
``Everyone knows that India is the next big thing, along with China. But the nation has been regarded as a difficult target to reach for local firms due to cultural differences and geography,'' KITA Executive Managing Director Wayne Yee said.
``The alliance with Tradeindia.com is expected to help Korean companies extend their presence in the potential-laden markets, which would emerge as the world's No. 2 in a few decades.''
Under the MOU, Tradeindia.com will build a separate section promoting Korea on its Web site. In addition, it will periodically send e-mails showing made-in-Korea products to its end customers, mostly Indian corporations.
``Based on the state-of-the-art mobile Internet infrastructure in India, one of the most advanced in the world, electronic marketplaces are quickly surging there. We need to take advantage of it,'' Yee said.
``The latest implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will also prop up the brisk trade between Korea and India.''
The CEPA, the bilateral agreement between Korea and India, is by and large similar to a free trade agreement. It took effect starting this year.
In a related move, KITA will hold a seminar on international electronic transactions, Friday, collaborating with such high-profile players as Tradeindia.com, Alibaba.com and EC21.com.
More than 1,300 people applied to take part in the gathering where Tradeindia.com Chief Executive Officer, Bikky Khosla will be present.
``The enthusiastic participation of Korean firms in the seminar showcases how much they are interested in trading with India through the new marketing strategies based on the Internet,'' Yee said.
``We will promote promising exporters to India in order to provide a variety of support in their attempts to make inroads into the populous South Asian country.''
The Seoul-based KITA will choose 500 prominent Korean exporters to enter the Indian market. They will be provided with a string of support or services such as funds for making electronic catalogues or translations of inquiries and other documents.
In addition, the Korea Exchange Bank plans to lower charges on global transactions by 30 to 50 percent for the 500 companies.