South Korea and Qatar are moving to join forces in making inroads into
construction markets in third countries by utilizing sovereign wealth funds of
the Middle East, Seoul officials said Thursday.
The Ministry of Land,
Transport and Maritime Affairs said it will sign a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with the Qatar Investment Authority in May in a bid to expand joint
investment in overseas construction projects.
The envisioned MOU is a
follow-up on a bilateral agreement that calls for the Qatari sovereign wealth
fund to help finance overseas construction projects secured by South Korean
builders.
The joint investment project involves the Qatar Investment
Authority and Global Infrastructure Fund of Qatar as well as South Korean
builders Samsung C&T Corp. and Hyundai Construction & Engineering
Co.
Seoul has proposed to Qatar that both sides jointly participate in
two pilot projects, the construction of a road in Ghana and a coal terminal in
Indonesia, the ministry said, adding Qatar has started reviewing the offer.
The ministry said the deal would help South Korean construction companies
break away from the traditional win-and-build method and drastically expand
their investment and development projects by tapping into Middle Eastern wealth
funds.
The planned MOU comes after Seoul signed a similar deal with
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, asking the UAE to allow South Korean
builders to participate in massive airport and subway projects in Abu
Dhabi.
Source Text