S. Korean, Singaporean companies discuss cooperation on digital economy

Economy 18:00 May 19, 2023

SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean and Singaporean companies discussed ways Friday to cooperate on digital platforms and technologies and to jointly make inroads into the related global market, Seoul's industry ministry said.

Some 25 digital firms, as well as dozens of other companies from the two nations, held their first Digital Economy Dialogue in Seoul, as the two nations have moved to strengthen their ties in the digital realm by signing the bilateral Digital Partnership Agreement last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The participating companies shared their business experiences regarding fintech, cloud service and other digital solutions, as well as digital platforms and the development of digital technologies, and explored ways to join hands to create new business chances.

On the sidelines of the dialogue, Deputy Trade Minister Jeong Dae-jin met with his Singaporean counterpart, Jane Lim, and agreed to work closely together to respond to fast-changing global trade circumstances by beefing up bilateral cooperation on digital economy, supply chains and green energy sources, among other things, the ministry said.

"Singapore has outstanding ICT infrastructure and good corporate circumstances, and South Korea secures digital manufacturing technologies. Bilateral cooperation, therefore, is expected to create synergies," Jeong said.

Corporate exchanges between the two nations in the digital sector have gathered pace recently.

For one, South Korea's top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. signed an agreement with Singapore's telecommunication giant Singapore Telecommunications, or Singtel, to deploy the latter's 5G network solutions at its innovation center in Singapore, which involves an electric vehicle production facility.

Singapore is South Korea's 11th-largest trading partner and has a similar digitization level, according to the ministry.