South Korea is on a mission to raise its international profile. Last month, the country signed its first nuclear export deal, worth $20bn, with the United Arab Emirates. The state-run Korea National Oil Corp has lined up $6.5bn for overseas acquisitions. Now the National Pension Service has said it will spend up to £100m to increase its stake in London's Gatwick airport to 12 per cent from 1.3. In the year that South Korea sits as president of the Group of 20, Seoul seems determined to prove its global credentials.
韓國目前的使命是提升其國際形象。上月,該國與阿聯酋簽署了首份核出口協議,價值200億美元。國營的韓國國家石油公司(Korea National Oil Corp)已撥出65億美元用于海外收購。現在,韓國國民年金公團(NPS)又宣布,將斥資多至1億英鎊,將所持倫敦蓋特威克機場的股份從1.3%提升至12%。在作為20國集團(G20)輪值主席國的一年,韓國似乎已下定決心要證明自己的全球資歷。