South Korea retailers vying for rare duty free licences

Seoul

SOUTH Korea's Hanwha Group, vying for one of two rare duty free licences up for grabs in Seoul, argues that its gold-toned skyscraper is the perfect draw for Chinese tourists, who have cemented South Korea's place as the world's duty free capital.

Rival bidder Shinsegae vows to turn its downtown department store, an 85-year-old landmark, into a giant duty free emporium, as the biggest players in South Korean retail battle for rights, which some of them estimate could generate as much as two trillion won (S$2.4 billion) in annual revenue each.