South Korea’s Ambassador to Qatar, Chang-mo Kim.
South Korea is keen to secure new LNG carrier orders from Qatar Petroleum (QP) after the world’s largest LNG producer and exporter recently announced its plans to order up to 60 new LNG carriers this year.
Qatar Petroleum has earlier said it would increase its annual LNG production by 43 percent to 110m tons.
The planned new carriers, with each vessel estimated to cost over $200m according to market analysts, will be used in transporting Qatar’s additional volume of LNG output.
In an interview with The Peninsula, South Korea’s Ambassador to Qatar, Chang-mo Kim, expressed his hope in the success of Korean shipbuilders to secure the new deals from Qatar.
He said, “Korean shipbuilders are well-known for their cutting-edge technology and rich experience in manufacturing LNG carriers. We sincerely hope Korean shipbuilders could have the chance to participate in Qatar Petroleum’s new project. If Korean shipbuilders are successful in getting the project, it will be the second time for Korean shipbuilders to manufacture Qatari LNG carriers. Three Korean shipbuilders had manufactured 54 LNG carriers and delivered to Qatar between 2005 and 2015”, Kim added.
Speaking about the growing bilateral relations between Qatar and South Korea, the Ambassador has said that trade volume between the two countries grew by 44 percent to $16.8bn in 2018 from $11.7bn in 2017.
Korea’s imports from Qatar, which were mainly gas and oil, rose by 45 percent from $11.3bn in 2017 to $16.3bn in 2018. Korea’s exports to Qatar also increased by 21 percent to $526mn in 2018, the Ambassador added.
Korea’s exports to Qatar included electric equipment, automobiles, heavy machinery, petroleum products and steel pipes. While the country’s imports from Qatar were mainly natural gas, crude oil, petroleum products, aluminum and LPG.
Meanwhile, demand for Korean food and cosmetic products here are also continually increasing among the residents. The Ambassador said Qatar imported about $7mn worth of Korean food items last year, which was a 60 percent increase compared to the previous year. Korean cosmetics are also getting more popular among residents with Qatar having imported around $3mn worth of Korean cosmetics in 2018.
Further speaking about environmental joint projects with Qatar, Kim lauded Qatar’s efforts to set up an Ocean and Fisheries Research Center as well as in developing the country’s aquaculture project.
He added, “At the summit meeting last January, our two countries adopted an MOU on fisheries and aquaculture, which aims to enhance bilateral cooperation in the areas of environmentally friendly fishing technology, hygiene and processing of sea products, and research in aquaculture among others. Korea expects to share related technologies, information, and experiences with Qatar through exchange of visits by experts and working level officers in the related areas”.
Currently, there are as many as 15 Korean engineering and construction companies represented in Doha that are participating in various construction projects here such as expressways, hospitals, power plants, and electricity networks.
Also, a total of 91 Korean companies, which were mainly in the construction and engineering sector, have already invested in Qatar. The Ambassador also said the total accumulated figure for Korea’s direct foreign investment in Qatar has reached $71m since the first Korean company entered the Qatari market in 1968.
Speaking about the growing interest among local Qatari companies here who are interested to set up joint investment projects with South Korean companies in Qatar’s Free Zones, the Ambassador said, “With the Qatari government’s efforts for the national vision 2030, various policies to attract foreign investment such as development of free zone areas and localisation policy (tawteen), we hope more Korean companies could have the chance to enter in manufacturing and service industries in Qatar.
“I heard the Free Zone Authority delegation has visited Korea several times and hosted briefing sessions inviting Korean companies in order to attract interested Korean companies in the Free Zone, which is being built in several areas in Qatar. As Korean companies have rich experience and related technologies, if combined with Qatari capital, they might produce synergy effects not only in Qatar but in a third country.
“As was discussed at the recent summit between our two heads of states, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Doha Office of the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) will spare no efforts to strengthen our bilateral cooperation in the investment area”.
