IK Holds Investment Promotion Session in China
Invest KOREA (IK) held an investment promotion session in Shanghai, China late March, aiming to attract Chinese investment into Korea. Seven technology enterprises from Gyeonggi Province and about 100 strategic Chinese investors participated.
China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) last year stood at USD 77.2 billion, a 28 percent increase from a year earlier. Strategic investment, including business-to-business equity investment and mergers and acquisitions, accounted for more than 80 percent of it. With Korea having concluded free trade agreements with the United States and European Union, IK expects Chinese capital to flow into sectors in Korea including information communication, medical bio and auto parts.
“Investment promotion projects in China will no longer focus simply on attracting capital investment but on establishing a foothold for expansion into China’s domestic and global market through alliances between domestic companies and Chinese strategic investors,” said Kim Sangchul, Director General of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency’s (KOTRA) business center in Shanghai. IK is the investment-promotion arm of KOTRA.
Gyeonggi Province Draws Investment From Sumitomo Chemical
Gyeonggi Province has signed an agreement with Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical for an investment of USD 300 million in the Pyeongtaek Poseung Industrial Complex.
Under the agreement, Dongwoo Fine-Chem, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical, will build facilities to manufacture touch sensors used for smartphones and tablet PCs in the complex by the end of next year. The company achieved KRW 2.3 trillion in sales last year through the production of LCD films and parts.
The provincial government expects the deal to create many jobs in the region.
South Chungcheong Province Draws Investment from U.S. Company
Golden NRG will build an advanced solid fuel manufacturing plant in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province by 2015.
Gu Bon-chung, Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs of South Chungcheong Province, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mayor Choi Seung-woo of Yesan and CEO Geoff Seaman of Golden NRG in Los Angeles.
Golden NRG will build a manufacturing plant equipped with stateof-the-art facilities on a 24,293m2 site in the Yedang General Industrial Complex. Golden NRG plans to invest USD 50 million by 2018.
The provincial government expects the establishment of the plant to generate 1,200 jobs, KRW 230 billion in sales, production inducement effects worth KRW 280 billion, added-value of KRW 230 billion and import replacement effects worth USD 725 million.
Busan Draws Global Logistics Firms
Global logistics firms are rushing to the Busan New Port Logistics Center, drawn by its location at the heart of a triangle connecting China, Japan and Southeast Asia and low rent.
According to the Busan Port Authority, Senshukai, Japan’s leading mail-order business, recently announced plans to build a large-scale logistics center in the Busan New Port Logistics Center.
Senshukai formerly distributed the products it made in Thailand, Vietnam, China and other countries to six other logistics centers in Southeast Asia. Now the company has merged the centers and moved to Busan.
The logistics center is expected to lead to an increase in trade volume for Korea of KRW 500 billion, along with regional economic impact worth KRW 14.8 billion and the creation of 300 jobs annually.
There are currently 51 logistics firm tenants in the North Container Hinterland Complex, which is in the Busan New Port Logistics Center, including a Dutch multinational logistics center operator, a Japanese maritime logistics firm and a Chinese maritime logistics firm.
Also, 27 global logistics firms have decided to move into the Ungdong Hinterland Complex, which is also in the Busan New Port Logistics Center, including Senshukai, B.L. International, a Canadian logistics firm, Mitsui Soko, a Japanese logistics warehouse firm, and NICE, a top Japanese house building materials company.
Source : Invest Korea
