The government and the South Korean business community are making a final push to invite global tycoons to business events to be held on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, industry sources said Sunday.

Co-hosted by the industry ministry and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the APEC CEO Summit will be held from Oct. 28 to 31 in Gyeongju, about 275 kilometers southeast of Seoul, bringing together 1,700 participants from APEC member economies and global companies.

Market watchers are paying close attention to the possible attendance of Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of global chip giant Nvidia Corp., after sources said he reacted positively to an invitation delivered by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also heads the KCCI.

Another industry source said Huang is expected to hold a special session on Oct. 31 when a separate event on the artificial intelligence industry will be held.

If Huang visits South Korea next month, he could also meet APEC member leaders and possibly visit the production lines of South Korean technology giants Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc.

Nvidia, a leading player in the AI chip industry, has been emerging as a key partner for major countries and businesses amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

Other business leaders who may visit South Korea for the APEC-related events include OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman, whose company operates one of the world’s most popular generative AI models, ChatGPT, and launched its Seoul office this month.

OpenAI Korea is the firm’s 12th office worldwide and its third in Asia.

South Korea is also making efforts to host Chinese business leaders, including Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu, as Beijing is set to host the APEC meeting next year. (PNA)