25 August, 2014
Kexim and the ICD, the sovereign wealth fund of the Emirate of Dubai, will work together under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed by both sides, the official Emirates News Agency (Wam) confirmed on 19 August.
According to Wam, cooperation between the two agencies “will initially focus on the healthcare, infrastructure and energy sectors”.
Kexim chairman and president Lee Duk-Hoon told Wam: “We believe that this partnership provides a fantastic platform to promote and develop new investment opportunities in potentially new markets for mutual benefit.”
ICD chief executive officer Mohammed Al Shaibani said the partnership would build on existing “strong commercial ties” with South Korea.
Sachin Kerur of Pinsent Masons said: “The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and South Korea together are and will continue to be a powerful and effective force. The shared vision, strength and respect between the two is very tangible and observed in highly successful ventures between corporations of both countries.”
Ties between South Korea and the UAE have increased since 2009, when South Korea was selected to lead a consortium working with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation to build the UAE’s first nuclear power plant at Barakah, in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi.
In 2012, South Korea’s ministry for land, transport and maritime affairs signed a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Investment Company (Invest AD) “to intensify cooperation for joint investment in third countries”.
Pinsent Masons’s Mark Raymont said: “In my work with UAE-Korean ventures, I have always found a healthy commercial regard and a real interest in together developing and exploiting opportunities in the infrastructure and energy sectors.”
For further information, please contact:
Richard Laudy, Partner, Pinsent Masons
Nick Ogden, Partner, Pinsent Masons