[THE INVESTOR] Officials from Mercedes-Benz and Ford have come to South Korea to examine the latest technology and auto parts, a local trade agency said on Oct. 19.

Nine officials from Mercedes-Benz and five others from Ford Motor will be joined by representatives from some 100 South Korean automotive firms until Oct. 21 for one-on-one business meetings and joint seminars, according to the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

The five-day event, which began on Oct. 17, is part of an annual program hosted by KOTRA, Global Partnering, which has often led to actual business deals in the past.

Gregory Hamel, a Ford director in charge of business strategy and indirect purchasing, has said the event offered a great chance to meet “new outstanding potential suppliers,” according to KOTRA.

Jochen Schaefers, an official from Mercedes-Benz, said his company was especially interested in finding global partners for batteries, displays, telematics and infotainment systems, also adding the firm planned to continue expanding its auto parts supplies from South Korea.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)