KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) hopes for enhanced trade collaboration with South Korea, as global trade elevates and Malaysia moves into the pre-endemic state, with the full reopening of its borders on April 1.
Shawn Sim, director of China and Northeast Asia Section said Malaysia and South Korea have established a strong bilateral relationship for the past six decades and this year marks the 62nd anniversary of diplomatic relations between both countries.
“In 2021, South Korea was Malaysia’s ninth largest global trading partner, with Malaysia’s total trade with South Korea growing 8.5 per cent. And this shows that South Korea remained a resilient trading partner to us.” he said at a webinar themed “Expand your Business to the Korean Market with EC21, the Leading Global B2B (business-to-business) Marketplace yesterday.
EC21 is a leading global B2B marketplace, whose main role is to connect buyers with suppliers all over the world.
Sim said EC31 was a platform for suppliers, manufacturers, and exporters to upload and promote their products and sell leads while buyers or importers could search and contact suppliers easily by B2B categories and keywords.
He noted that the online B2B marketplace is becoming an important trade tool for business-to-business transactions and marketing as it speeds up the marketing process and saves overall transaction costs.
“With a total population of 51.8 million, South Korea is known for having one of the fastest internet networks around the world and high availability of high-speed internet.
“Almost 96.5 percent of South Koreans use the internet and almost 70 per cent are online shoppers. E-commerce sales contributed about $156.5 billion to South Korea.”
Meanwhile, Malaysian Embassy in Seoul charge d’affaires Ahmad Fahmi Ahmad Sarkawi expects bilateral trade between Malaysia and South Korea to increase further by leveraging the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that entered into force early this year.
He added that business restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have forced a global business paradigm shift towards the digital economy, which has negatively impacted traditional business models while creating a new opportunity through diversification in online sales.
“E-commerce is now a global phenomenon, growing at a rapid rate in almost every country. It is continuously growing worldwide, especially during the pandemic and the markets are expected to reach new milestones in the post-COVID19 era,” he added. – Bernama
