Breaking Away from the US and China-Centric Markets to Pioneer New Ones
Expanding Overseas Exhibitions and Trade Delegations in Six Promising Countries
"Selecting Beginner Small Businesses to Enter Emerging Markets"
Busan City has set sail to target the 'Global South,' moving beyond the US and Chinese markets.
The Global South refers to a new classification of countries previously known as the Third World and developing nations, in contrast to the 'Global North,' which denotes advanced countries located in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The Global South includes countries distributed in the Southern Hemisphere and the low latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
Busan City (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) announced on the 9th that it will collaborate with related organizations to strategically target six promising countries, including those in the Global South, as part of its new market expansion efforts.
In response to the rapidly changing global trade environment, such as the launch of the new US administration and the spread of protectionism among major countries, Busan plans to move away from its traditional focus on the US and Chinese markets and actively pursue alternative markets centered on the Global South.
To this end, the city will expand support for overseas exhibitions and trade delegations held in six promising countries, including those in the Global South, and has increased the related budget by about 100 million KRW compared to the previous year.
Starting with the food exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand this May, Busan will strategically explore promising markets such as India and Indonesia. The city also plans to strengthen the export competitiveness of local companies by providing market trend analyses for these regions and supporting practical buyer matching to help generate revenue.
The six promising countries to watch this year, as selected by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), are India, Malaysia, UAE, Uzbekistan, Germany, and Italy.
Additionally, Busan will launch and implement the B-Laicon program, a new initiative to support small business owners in expanding into overseas markets.
Busan City plans to select seven beginner export companies among local small businesses and support their efforts to enter emerging markets such as India and Malaysia.
Kim Bongcheol, Director of Digital Economy at Busan City, stated, "We will do our utmost to help Busan's small and medium-sized enterprises break away from the export structure focused on the US and China and pioneer new markets," adding, "We aim to make this an opportunity for Busan to leap forward as a global trade city in line with global megatrends."
Busan City recommended that companies wishing to participate in the project apply through the city's integrated overseas marketing system.
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