South Korea’s business promotion agency said Sunday it had hosted a meeting with Malaysia’s trade minister to discuss ways to expand bilateral business cooperation and investment opportunities.

The gathering in Seoul on Friday created an opportunity for local companies to get information from senior officials on how to do business in the Southeast Asian country, the Small and Medium Business Corp. said.

It said Minister for International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed received questions from executives of 20 companies that had set up operations in Malaysia. Besides the minister, senior policymakers from Kuala Lumpur were on hand at the meeting to receive questions.

SBC head Lim Chae-un was also present at the meeting.

“The Malay officials provided information on the country’s industrial circumstances and ways to make headway for companies,” a source said. He said they also listened to challenges being encountered by foreign companies doing business there.

Related to the talks, Lim said that Malaysia is a key market that could allow South Korean companies to better enter the vast Association of Southeast Asian Nations market.

“This can allow companies to sidestep protectionism trends (emerging) in China,” the official said. (Yonhap)