South Korean companies ink $6.1 billion MOUs with UAE partners

ABU DHABI – Business leaders from South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed 24 initial agreements worth at least $6.1 billion on joint projects in various sectors, including the energy, defense and tourism businesses.

The memorandums of understanding (MOUs) came at a business forum held in Abu Dhabi on Monday on the sidelines of Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s four-day state visit to the UAE, the first by a South Korean leader since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1980.

“The scope of bilateral business cooperation is expanding from energy and nuclear power plants to new growth areas such as renewable energy, smart cities and cultural content,” Seoul’s trade ministry said in a statement.

In the energy sector, Samsung C&T Corp. agreed with the UAE’s Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Co., to supply hydrogen and build renewable energy infrastructure in Masdar City, a planned “zero-carbon” city project in Abu Dhabi.

Samsung also signed an MOU with Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) on power transmission and gas development projects.

Daehan E&C Co. and the UAE’s state-run waste management agency agreed to cooperate on waste disposal and management. The two companies will invest $20 million in a project to produce electricity using industrial waste.

Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) entered into a partnership to jointly produce low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia following an agreement on Sunday on a crude oil joint stockpiling project.

IMPORTANT DEFENSE PARTNER

In the defense business, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding (ADSB) signed an MOU on a warship project. The two companies discussed ways to export Korea’s smaller Navy warships to the UAE, industry officials said.

LIG Nex1 Co. and Tawazun Technology and Innovation (TTI), a local defense company, discussed Korea’s exports of anti-ballistic missiles to the UAE.

Last year, LIG Nex1 clinched a contract to supply 2.6 trillion won ($2.1 billion) worth of Cheongung II, a surface-to-air missile system, to the Middle Eastern country.

In the new growth business sector, Korea’s pharmaceutical company Medytox Inc. and Dubai Science Park agreed to push for a project to build a bio-product facility.

The two companies have discussed cooperation on botulinum toxin, or botox, products used to treat overactive muscle diseases and facial wrinkles.

Korea's largest travel platform Yanolja signed an MOU with local companies on tourism promotion.

Woodumji Farm and two other Korean farming companies have agreed to push for a project to build smart farms in the UAE.

SOVEREIGN FUNDS’ $30 BILLION INVESTMENT IN KOREA

The private-level business cooperation agreements follow a summit on Sunday between Korean President Yoon and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nayhan.

At the summit, the UAE president announced a plan to invest $30 billion in Korea across strategic sectors, including the nuclear power, defense, hydrogen and energy businesses. The investment will be led by the UAE’s sovereign wealth funds, including Mubadala Investment Co.

President Yoon’s UAE trip was accompanied by a business delegation of some 100 Korean companies and top business executives, including Samsung Electronics Co.'s Jay Y. Lee, Hyundai Motor Co.'s Chung Euisun and SK Inc.'s Chey Tae-won.

Write to Dong-Wook Jwa at leftking@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.