The finance minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia pitched $1.4 billion in treasury bonds, as well as ways Seoul can completely eliminate tax evasion, during his visit in Seoul on Thursday.

Finance Minister Norbert Walter-Borjans of North Rhine-Westphalia talked up investing in the state’s recent issuance of over a billion dollars in bonds, as well as creating people-friendly tax payment procedures to completely eradicate tax evasion.

Walter-Borjans was on a whirlwind four-day, three-nation tour in East Asia. He arrived late Wednesday night, after a one-day stop in Beijing, China. He departed for Tokyo late Thursday, and returned to Germany Friday night.

While in Seoul, he met with high-level ministry and financial sector officials. He first visited the region in 2011 and returned as “large banks in East Asia held a high degree of interest in Germany’s investment risk guarantee system,” according to a press statement by the German Embassy.

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia has a population of about 18 million and its GDP is approximately $750 billion, the equivalent of the 19th richest nation in the world.

“North Rhine-Westphalia is renowned in Germany ― and Europe broadly ― for successfully eradicating tax evasion,” he said. “We want to become a pioneer in closing loopholes for tax evasions and for simplifying tax payment procedures in a people-friendly way,”

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)