Trade, investment between South Korea and India surge

Jan 18, 2011, 9:20 GMT

Seoul - Trade between South Korea and India jumped to an all-time high in 2010 after a free trade deal was put in place early in the year, a news report said Tuesday.

Bilateral trade was 17.1 billion dollars, up nearly 41 per cent from 12.2 billion dollars in 2009, and higher than the previous record of 15.6 billion dollars in 2008.

The surge was in part due to a free trade deal signed by the two countries in August 2009 and in force since January last year, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency said.

Bilateral trade showed a surplus in South Korea's favour, with 11.4 billion dollars of exports to India in return for 5.7 billion dollars of imports, according to the report.

The deal had also encouraged a sharp rise in investment, the report said, with India investing 371 million dollars in South Korea in 2010, up from just 3 million the year before.

South Korea invested 143 million dollars in India in the first nine months of the year, Yonhap said, adding that the full-year figure was not available, and without quoting the 2009 amount.

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