Ontario Expanding Trade and Investment with South Korea

$20M Investment and New Agreements Support Partnerships between Ontario and Korean Businesses

SEOUL — Today, Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and Raymond Cho, Ontario’s Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, announced two new agreements to help further Ontario’s trade relationship with South Korea.

Fedeli has spent the past two days meeting with key Korean business leaders as part of the government’s trade mission in South Korea, promoting Ontario’s strong open for business agenda and support for partnerships that will help increase trade and investment in the province.

DAYLI Partners, a bio-healthcare venture capital firm headquartered in Seoul, has partnered with Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP) to create a new US$20 million venture fund. This first-of-its-kind global healthcare fund between Ontario and South Korea will support Ontario Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital health and medical science companies. It will increase investment attraction and business growth in Ontario by stimulating life science start-ups, support local businesses and provide commercialization assistance to help innovations and technologies get to market.

Ontario is already home to some of the world’s leading institutions in research and innovation and a business-friendly environment and has created an ideal climate for international partnerships and investment.

“Let me congratulate DAYLI Partners and TIAP on this incredible partnership that leverages Ontario’s strengths in life sciences, world-renowned research institutions and manufacturers,” said Minister Fedeli. “Collaborations like this one demonstrate Ontario’s ability to attract international investment that will lead to innovative advancements while creating good jobs in Ontario.”

Minister Fedeli also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Ontario and the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) that will strengthen economic relations and promote co-operation between Ontario and South Korean businesses. The MOU seeks to leverage agreements like the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement with tangible action and metrics to provide Ontario exporters with a competitive advantage in this strategic market.

“Our government’s top priority is to make Ontario open for business and that means opening up global markets for Ontario exporters,” said Minister Fedeli. “This agreement between Ontario and the Korea Importers Association is an important step towards growing our $7.2 billion-dollar trade relationship and increasing export opportunities for our businesses to one of the largest economies in the world.”

Diversifying Ontario’s trade potential and partnerships is critical for job creation and sustaining long-term economic growth for the province.

Quick Facts

DAYLI Partners and Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2019, and the new global venture fund is expected to launch by the end of 2019.
The Korea Importers Association is an organization dedicated to facilitating imports into Korea.
In 2018, South Korea imported over $535 billion dollars worth of goods from around the world.
Two-way trade between Ontario and South Korea generated over C$7.2 billion dollars in 2018, with about 30 South Korean companies currently operating in Ontario.
South Korea ranks as 5th on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index.