BASF to Move Asia-Pacific HQ to Korea
In a move to strengthen its electronic materials business in the Asia Pacific, leading German electronic materials supplier BASF will establish the regional headquarters of its Electronic Materials business unit in Seoul in the first half of the year.
The Asia-Pacific headquarters will handle regional functions for marketing & product management, sales management and operational management. Regional activities for this unit are presently managed from Hong Kong.
The largest chemical company in the world, BASF offers a full portfolio of high-purity and quality process chemicals and specialized solutions. The company’s portfolio includes everything from chemicals and performance products to oil and gas.
Molex Completes Electronic Connector Manufacturing Plant
Molex Korea, established by the United States’ Molex, has completed an electronic connector manufacturing plant in the Banwol Industrial Complex in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
The building completion ceremony held last month was attended by 500 guests, including Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo, Ansan Mayor Kim Cheol-min, Molex CEO Martin P. Slark and Molex Korea President Lee Jae-hoon.
The company built the manufacturing plant on a 13,926m2 site with an investment of USD 30 million. It will supply electronic connectors used for liquid crystal displays, mobile phones and tablet PCs to Samsung, LG Electronics, LG Display and Hyundai Motor Company.
The provincial government expects the plant to create an import substitution effect worth KRW 54 billion (USD 48.7 million), improve domestic technology and secure price competitiveness.
Costco to Construct Distribution Center in Gyeonggi Province
Gyeonggi Province announced last month that it has reached a verbal agreement with Costco, a U.S. multinational distribution corporation, for the construction of a distribution center in Poseung Industrial Complex.
Costco, which has nine warehouses in Korea and 622 around the world, will invest USD 120 million in the construction of a 125,400 m2 distribution center in the Posung-2 general industrial complex, which is in the town of Poseung, in the city of Pyeongtaek. Costco will use the distribution center as a base for maritime distribution. Construction is expected to begin next year.
IK, Local Govts. & FEZs Hold Conference
Invest Korea (IK), local governments and free economic zone authorities (FEZAs) held a conference last month to promote investment, and three more rounds of the conference are scheduled to be held. During the first round, IK’s 20 investment promotion experts visited Daegu, South Chungcheong Province and the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority.
The conference aimed to promote cooperation and networking between IK and local governments, examine the challenges of investment promotion and show foreign investment promotion areas. It strengthened collaborative ties between IK and local governments by helping attendees understand the investment promotion status of local governments and FEZAs, establishing cooperation channels and fostering networking between investment promotion experts.
IK plans to visit more local governments, FEZAs and main industrial complexes by holding three more rounds of the conference.
Source : Invest Korea
