HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea urged investors in Hong Kong Thursday to invest in Asia’s fourth-largest economy by offering a variety of incentives.

South Korea’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy opened a national investor relations session in Hong Kong earlier in the day, designed to woo Hong Kong-based large-scale funds and other foreign capital.

South Korean officials, led by Knowledge Economy Deputy Minister Moon Jae-do, promised various incentives, and private business meetings will be held between the South Korean government delegation and Hong Kong investors, according to the ministry.

“This event is intended to give investors in Hong Kong the opportunity to meet with industry parties and enlighten them about South Korea’s private equity market,” said Moon.

“It will give the investors a glimpse of the vision and values of South Korea’s leading medium-sized enterprises that have enormous growth potential. Korean fund mangers will share strategies and talk about recent issues relevant to the industry.”

On the sidelines of the event, the ministry held a ceremony for signing letters of intent with Anchor Equity Partners and Asana Hong Kong Ltd. on investing in South Korea.

The total amount of the investment by the two Hong Kong companies is estimated to top $10 million.

Hong Kong is South Korea’s fourth-largest export market after China, the U.S. and Japan. South Korea is the seventh-largest export market for Hong Kong.

Bilateral trade between the two economies amounted to more than $27 billion in 2011, up 12.7 percent from a year ago.

In line with growing intra-regional trade in Asia, Hong Kong’s total exports to South Korea rose 14 percent to reach $7.9 billion last year. South Korea’s exports to Hong Kong increased by 12.2 percent to $19.3 billion. Hong Kong suffered a trade deficit against South Korea amounting to over $11.4 billion.

The South Korean government held a similar session in Singapore earlier on Tuesday.