Irish PM seeks investment during China visit

Ireland's prime minister Monday urged Chinese firms to invest in his country, on a visit to the Asian giant just days after official data revealed the euro member had slipped back into recession.

Ireland -- which was forced to seek a rescue package in 2010 after a deep recession left its economy close to collapse -- has been working to boost its image in China as it seeks investment and new markets for Irish goods.

“Ireland is open for business and this is a brilliant time to invest in and to benefit from Ireland's recovery,” Enda Kenny -- currently on a four-day trip to China -- told business leaders in the commercial hub of Shanghai.

“It is vital to Ireland's national interests that our companies tap into the enormous business opportunities that exist here and that we also connect Ireland with China's vast outward investment potential,” he said.

Debt-hit Ireland sought a European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout to the tune of 85 billion euros ($112 billion at current rates) in 2010 after suffering a deep recession amid a property market meltdown and banking crisis.

Official data on Thursday showed that the country once dubbed the “Celtic Tiger” due to its fast-growing economy sank back into recession late last year, despite registering annual growth for the first time since 2007.

Irish gross domestic product shrank 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter after a contraction of 1.1 percent in the third quarter. The technical definition of a recession is two quarters of economic contraction in a row.

AFP